


Tropes

by RadioactiveRoulette



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Jealous Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), POV Alternating, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioactiveRoulette/pseuds/RadioactiveRoulette
Summary: Team Voltron manage to escape an altercation with Lotor's Ladies, and even manage to capture one of them along the way. This new development will impact all team members differently, but that's fine.  Lance has decided he doesn't give a shit anyway.





	1. Guard Duty - LANCE

**Author's Note:**

> I've got plans for a few chapters, I just wanted to explore possibilities for Acxa's character.  
> Probably because my crush on her is overwhelming.  
> Whoops.

This is fucking bullshit, but I can't be the only one that’s noticed. I just want to be the first one to point it out.  

It's a pride thing at this point.  

It's been about a week since we took that weird Galra chick prisoner. Allura doesn't want us to call her that, but why beat around the fucking bush?  

Taken against her will, kept locked in a makeshift cell? Hunk had to weld the vent covers to the wall in her room so we could make sure she didn't try to take a leisurely crawl through the ducts. He installed a window and a hatch we could open to talk to her and to shove food into the room too. Yeah, that totally sounds like someone just hanging out with us for kicks. 

She's a prisoner. We should keep our distance, extract information and leave her the fuck alone, and we would be...  

If Keith could keep it in his pants.  

He's been down to her cell to talk to her every day since we brought her back... ALONE. 

 I can't say I don't get it.  

I tried to flirt with her too when we had her in cuffs in the dining hall, waiting for Hunk to finish welding. She doesn't flirt, too stuck up for her own good, I guess. She didn't respond to my best line. Or my second best one. She just looked at me like I was dirt on her shoe.  

Her loss. I'm a catch.  

I can feel my face twisting into a frown. I really need to stop doing that, it's only going to give me premature wrinkling.  Keith frowns all the time, he's going to look like a crypt keeper by the time he hits thirty. Somehow, he's gotten lucky up to this point. Most of his skin is pretty smooth, which is saying something since the prick never moisturizes. Just another thing he does perfectly without trying, I guess.  

I can hear that galra girl - Auxillary Cable, or whatever – walking around inside her room. She's cursing to herself again; she does this a lot. She reminds me a lot of Keith when she does that, maybe she picked up the habit from him, with all the time he's spent down here.  I don't care to stop the groan that comes out of me. I've got several hours left on guard duty, and it is the fucking pits.  

It's my own damn fault for volunteering for twelve hour shifts though, but I'll never admit that to anyone else.  

When we talked about how we would split up the time, Keith had been the first to take a shift.  Initially I figured it was because he was trying to step up, be a good leader... or maybe he just wanted something to do. He's never been good at idling. Whenever he isn't busy he's always twisting his hands around in his lap, or fiddling with his stupid gloves.  I'm sure everyone else noticed that too.  

So, when he jumped up the second day, offering to stand guard again, it still seemed normal. Keith isn't exactly a great military strategist, most of the time he just rushes into crap... but he also doesn't seem to throw away a good opportunity. I figured he was just trying to get to know the enemy. 

On the third day, when we discussed who would keep watch by her 'quarters', Keith jumped up offering to cover the job for at least twelve hours each day. Not to be outdone, I volunteered to cover the other twelve. So, it's been me and Keith rotating this crap shoot of a job since then. He doesn't seem to mind it, but I'm getting real tired of watching this bitch.  

 All he seems to want to do is guard this Axiom girl.  It's fucking with our team dynamic. Because we are on opposite shifts, he and I aren't training together anymore, and we've been snapping at each other again.  I thought he and I were finally getting on the right foot, but now it's all weird. He's going to screw up our ability to form Voltron because of some hot purple Galran chick. I always knew Keith was a hot-head, sure... but he's never had an issue distinguishing friends from enemies, something he loves to throw in my face.  

In my defense, Nyma was really hot.  

"Can you stop muttering to yourself out there, I'm trying to enjoy some peace and quiet." 

I'm gritting my teeth to stop the immediate ' _Listen, bitch_ _'_ that threatens to come out. Who the fuck does she think she is? Surely, she's not buying Allura's 'not a prisoner' spiel. 

_"_ I'll try to keep it down, your highness." I manage to choke out. I'd rather choke her out.  

"That would be great, thanks." Her voice is clipped, like she didn't want to respond to me, but she had no way out of it. That does nothing for the irritation currently driving me up the wall, like her presence alone is enough to make me want to bite her head off.  

If this was a movie, we would probably end up falling in love, as much as I can't fucking stand to be around her.  Maybe she sees the error of her ways, maybe being around us opens her eyes to the bad that Lotor is doing in the universe. Then she will have an abrupt change of heart and fall in love with the closest, angstiest romantic interest. Her newfound romance will make her eager to help, and her information or skills will help us turn the tide in this war.  Add a few choice crescendos and boom... happy ending.  I've watched enough rom-coms, I know how everything falls into place.  

I'm no fucking trope. 

A noise coming down the hall draws my attention. There, hands in his pockets is the man of the hour, Keith. I can't help the snort that escapes. He's early again, big fucking surprise. 

"Whatcha up to, buddy?" I ask, forcing my voice to sound aloof. I'm great at aloof.  

Keith's steps stutter to a halt and he sends me a half-smile. It almost takes my breath away, you know, thinking about how much he's opened up to our group recently. I shoot him a quality Lance smirk.  

"Just coming to check on you."  

My heart stutters a little bit, because it's stupid and forgets how to beat properly sometimes. I widen my smirk into an actual grin, ready to respond before I realize Keith is still talking. 

 "and Acxa. You need a break? I don't mind relieving guard duty early." 

Aaaand there it is. "Nah, mullet man. I've got Axilla the hun over here." 

"It's Acxa, Lance... you know that." Keith crosses his arms, muscles in his arms flexing a little. Probably trying to intimidate me.  

"Does it matter, Keith? Axe Body Spray back there is one of Lotor's hoes."  

"I'm one of his GENERALS." 

"WHAT THE FUCK LANCE.  SHE ISN'T A WHORE." 

My ears are almost ringing from the sudden double onslaught. I choose to ignore the sudden anger twisting around in my gut.  

"Why the fuck are you defending her, mullet?" I saunter over to him, stabbing him in the chest with my bayard turned gun. "She's the enemy, dude." 

"But I am no one's harem girl, idiot."  

I'm glad that galra don't have laser eyes, she'd have melted through the door instantly with that glare. That is a quality glare. Keith Quality.  

The master of the glare pipes back up. "She's one of four generals in Prince Lotor's Army, dude. And with the way she took you down when we went against her the first time, she earned the title."  

He has the gall to smirk at me. Heh. Gall. Cause he's part Galr... THIS IS NOT THE TIME, BRAIN. I make a note to store that one away for later use anyway. 

I might need a crank to haul my jaw off of the floor. I choose to reevaluate my previous choice. Take-backsies are fine if no one else really knew the original decision. They are both glaring at me now, two sets of eyes piercing into me. Hers is a little less potent, since she's glaring through a door and I can't see all of her face. Ignoring her, I turn to Keith. "You have got to be fucking kidding me, seriously dude? Getting laid isn't that important." 

Keith is fucking scowling at me, eyes blown wide as he stutters angrily. If he was able to form a coherent sentence, he might've lashed out at me, the fucking hot-head. Instead he just holds a deep breath and sighs, like I'm the problem here, the petulant child that just doesn't understand what's going on. He's rubbing his temples with the tips of his long nimble fingers, hair falling into his face hiding brilliantly purple eyes. 

Whoa, calm down brain. Unnecessary adjectives right there. I'm fucking mad at him, get with the program. 

"I'll take over the shift, Lance." He isn't looking at me, his eyes are directed on the door to my left, and it fucking stings. Part of me wants to continue arguing with him. Part of me wants to slam him against the wall and tell him he's being a stupid prick, letting his dick make his decisions for him. Part of me wants to tell him that Axl Rose isn't worth his time. She's so far beneath him.  

Instead, I just nod. I just nod and walk away. I don't notice the way he immediately walks to the door's window to speak to Axolotl. I don't notice the way his stupid voice goes all soft as they murmur to one another in hushed tones. I definitely don't notice how he actually smiles at her, eyes all gentle and kind. If Keith wants to get taken in by a pretty enemy alien chick, he can go right the fuck ahead. And when I have to rescue his dumbass, I'll make sure to rub it in his face. 

He can be a trope, but I sure as hell won't be.   


	2. Sleep Deprivation - Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance struggles to understand what is going on around him. Maybe it would be easier, if his body would just let him sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say that I'm having such a blast writing from Lance's perspective?   
> Poor guy.

Sleep is a wonderful, glorious thing. 

Well.

It used to be.

I used to dream about pretty alien girls. Pretty alien girls who couldn't get enough of The Lance.    
I still dream about pretty alien girls, but now they are usually covered in blood, grinning at me as they let the lifeless form of one of my friends drop to the ground. More and more frequently the friend in question is Keith.  I wake up reaching for a person that isn't there like if he was just tangible, if he was just _here_ , I would be okay. But now my heart won't stop racing long enough for me to fall back asleep, as per usual.

This has been happening since we took in General Asshat. Insomnia is a dick.

I can't exactly talk to anyone about this. Pidge and Hunk would read way too much into the fact Keith is in one of my dreams.  Jokes on them, this wouldn't be the first time. Shiro has been acting strangely since we found him, I think he's still a little out of it. I don't hold it against him. When we finally found him, he looked like a he spent four years stranded on Gilligan's Island.  Anyway, Shiro and Keith are super close... anything said to Shiro might inadvertently make its way back to the former Red Paladin. Allura and Coran are suspicious of the Galra, but I doubt they would put much stock in the dreams of the team goofball. 

That leaves Keith and the mice. Last I checked, space mice don't exactly specialize in counseling. Keith, hah. Like hell I'm telling him about this. I can think of at least thirty-two things I would rather do, and at least six of them include personal dismemberment. 

Looks like I'm not going back to sleep anytime soon. Again. Maybe if I can just make it a few more hours, staring at the ceiling it will be time for breakfast. I'm actually glad Keith agreed to take night shifts. I'm more social than he is anyway.  

I groan, running my hands through my hair and down over my face. I shouldn't, I'm prone to breakouts... but sometimes my flair for dramatics overrides my personal convictions about facial hygiene.  

My eyes feel too dry, too open, and too tired. I'm fairly certain if I keep staring at the metal ceiling I'm going to start hallucinating, and won't that be fun.  Maybe I should hit the training deck early. Keith says he does when he can't sleep, and with him on guard duty, I'll probably have the room to myself.  

I groan, slowly rolling up into what could only be called upright if I'm being generous. My head feels fuzzy. The most recent dream startled me out of a pretty deep sleep, I'm still struggling to gain complete motor control. Maybe the training deck isn't the best idea. I might be able to confuse the gladiator with erratic movements, but I doubt falling over will win me any points in the simulation. Maybe just a walk then, I've got a whole castle to explore. 

My sluggish stride is unguided. I have no destination and yet I still manage to walk to the one place I didn't want to end up, and instantly the drowsiness drains from my body.  I'm staring at the door Hunk modified for our prisoner, but Keith is nowhere in sight. 

I quickly survey the area. There isn't any blood, so there's a good chance I'm not dreaming. I immediately fumble at my belt loop for my bayard. Fuck. I left it back in my room, even with my nightmares I didn't expect something like this to happen, not so soon. We've been careful! Guarding that door constantly, there's no way she could have gotten the drop on Keith of all people. 

I can feel my heart pounding in my throat. I have to get help. Hunk's room is the closest, I'll start with him. Scrambling forward, I almost lose my footing in my haste. By the time I finally get back to Hunk's room, my lungs are screaming and my calves are burning from the unexpected exercise. I really need to get into better shape. I slam my fist against the ID pad next to Hunk's door. He had given me and Pidge both permissions to enter his room close to the start of our adventures. I've never been so grateful. 

I leapt across the room, slamming my body into the lump that was my best friend snoring on his bed. 

"HUNK. She's escaped. She's got Keith!"

Hunk comes to far slower than I would like. I keep shaking him, as I watch him slowly realize his surroundings. 

"Keith?" Hunk asks, bleary eyed. "She?" He yawns, standing slowly with a stretch. "Keith's a dude."

"NO. Hunk. The Co-axial cable took Keith." Hunk blinks at me, confused. "The galra general has KEITH."

He shakes his head vigorously. "Yeah, but why?" He mumbles. What is with all the fucking questions?? "Okay, I'm coming." I squint at him, making sure he made eye contact with me, before I'm setting off back down the hallway. I keep having to stop to let Hunk catch up, so it takes longer to get back than it had to book it to Hunk's room. I can feel myself gritting my teeth by the time we make it there. 

Hunk walks over to the post and peeks through the door, immediately rolling his eyes. 

"So what's the plan? I figure you and I can split up, you go check the command central, you can see if a pod has ejected recently. I can go wake everyone else up, and then we can scan the perimeter."

"Lance."

"After that we might have to look at our position, see the closest outpost."

"Lance." 

 I continue ticking off our options on my fingers, we don't have time for chitchat. "If she did steal a pod, she won't make it far without refueling."

"LANCE."

I spin around, furious. "I'm trying to SAVE KEITH'S LIFE HUNK, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"They're in the room."

I splutter, mind going blank. I checked the room didn't I? I wouldn't have just... Fuck. "They're WHAT??" I shoot towards the door, fumbling with my code briefly before bursting inside the room.

Keith and the general are sitting facing each other at the end of the room. His gaze swivels onto me in shock, confusion settling across his features. They are both staring at me with twin looks of bewilderment. I gulp, calming my panic as I survey the scene. First things first, no blood. Already better than my dream. Keith is sitting on the floor, both legs out in front of him. He's missing his paladin chest plate, and glancing up I notice it had been discarded on the chair closest to him along with what could only be hers. The sleeve of his under suit looks like it has been pushed down slightly to expose his left shoulder.

She's sitting across from him, almost a perfect mirror of him, but with one leg pulled up to her chest, her head resting on her knee. She has the top of her right shoulder exposed, light and dark violet marks visible now that the fabric has been pushed back. My eyes finally drift to her face, I can see she's smirking at me. 

I turn back to Keith, utterly confused. I find myself searching his face for something, anything I could understand, but he just looks at me perplexed. Listen, I'm not the confusing thing about this situation. What the hell were they doing, playing cards?  I huff, tearing my gaze away from those unnaturally purple eyes, letting mine fall back to his exposed shoulder.  Taking a second look, I can see a faint mark, dark purple peeking out from under the edge of the fabric of his flight suit. 

I would just like to say, I'm not a rash person. Sure, maybe I'm a little impulsive, the Red lion does let me pilot her now, I'd be an idiot to say that I'm not partially instinct driven. Despite what people say though, I generally like to think through my words, my actions. It's what makes me a good diplomat, as long as I avoid flirting. 

Seeing that mark on Keith's shoulder, big purple and weirdly shaped... I can't seem to form coherent thoughts anymore. My fists are clenching by my sides, and I'm pretty sure I'm developing a tick in one of my eyes.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK."

Keith stands, but I move away quickly, walking backwards into Hunk.  I chance a glance at my friend only to find he was grinning down at me, eyebrows raised.

"Lance, are you okay?"

My eyes lock back onto his face, but I'm not sure if I'm really seeing him. He looks a little fuzzy around the edges, like I'm viewing him through a fire, the image distorting with the heat. 

"What the fuck." My voice is low. I want to yell, to shout, I want to choke the bitch in the corner again - but I can't seem to move anymore. 

Keith looks from me to Hunk, and I feel Hunk shrug from behind me. 

"What. The. Fuck?" I run my hands through my hair, eyes darting back and forth from the general to Keith. 

No one says anything for a few minutes. 

I feel myself take a shuddering breath, and I force my spine to straighten. 

"So." Keith seems guarded, completely confused about the words coming out of my mouth."  It's English, you uncultured peanut. I'm gritting my teeth again. "You're not actually guarding her, are you." 

Keith looks at me, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about, of course I am?" The general is shaking her head, smirk still plastered to her face.

"How convenient." I can't force myself to look at either one of them. "Night shift too, shit you're good." I can hear laughing. It sounds overwhelming, shaky and sporadic. I wish whoever is laughing would fucking stop already. I feel like I'm in the red lion, hurtling towards earth at a million miles an hour. I can't seem to quit talking. I glare back towards Keith. "You put the entire team in jeopardy just to get your dick wet." The laughing is breathy now, fractured. "You son of a bitch." 

The general shoots to her feet, fists clenched at her side, mouth opening to spew vitrol towards me, I'm sure. Keith raises a hand behind him, and surprisingly she pauses, looking towards him. The laughing finally stops, and I can feel myself breathing normally again. Oh, it was me? Funny, I don't remember starting. I don't know what's so funny. I feel disoriented.

"Thought you weren't a harem girl?" I spit, injecting every ounce of venom I can muster into the question. I can feel Hunk going stock still behind me, breathing in a shocked gasp. I know I'm grinning humourlessly towards the pair at the end of the room. Keith shoots towards me and I feel the impact long before I actually register that he fucking punched me in the goddamn jaw. The rage leaves me in an instant as I watch him leave the room. He looks like if he was any more tense he would snap like an overstretched rubber band. The general is sitting on her bed now, crossing her legs as she observes me curiously. I notice that the room is shifting, belatedly realizing I'm sinking to my knees. Hunk catches me quickly, and I look up at him, searching for answers. 

"You deserved that one, buddy."

Hunk drags me out of the room and towards the Med bay, telling me that I am already bruising pretty badly along my jaw. I can feel something dribbling out of the corner of my mouth, and the familiar metallic taste makes it hard not to take Hunk at his word.  Keith never does anything half assed. The entire trip towards the healing pods one thought kept echoing in my mind. 

What. The. Fuck.


	3. Galra blood - Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk has an idea  
> Allura is a hypocrite  
> Pidge is excitable
> 
> Keith observes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, so here, have an extra long one from a different perspective this time. 
> 
> It's so hard to switch to anyone after writing Lance. He's so fun to write.   
> I hope I did my broody boy Keith some justice. 
> 
> Don't worry, if you have been enjoying Lance's POV. Most of this story will be through Lance because I can't write without puns and Lance appreciates them, but I'll be throwing other perspectives in here and there to remind us all that Lance's isn't always the most reliable.
> 
> Un-beta'ed, so forgive any horrific errors.

"Really, you don't miss cartoons at all?" Pidge and Hunk look at me, suspicion clear on their faces. 

 "Surely there has to be one you miss dude." Hunk is staring at me like a scorpion is currently crawling out of my face. 

"Ah, I remember watching some early morning cartoons with one of the foster families I lived with at some point." I force myself to lean back, relaxing a little into the giant sofa taking up most of the space in the rec-room. "I liked... I think it was called Samurai Jack?" 

"Oh, yeah that's a good one." Hunk is grinning at me now.

Pidge giggles. "Of course you like the samurai one."

Hunk elbows Pidge, wiggling his eyebrows at her, causing her to snort. "See, I told you. Even desert cat orphans watch cartoons." 

I can't help but feel a little amused. "That a serious conversation you had?" 

Hunk shrugs but Pidge responds first. "We were debating how normal your childhood was." 

"I hunted down a giant blue metal space cat in the middle of the desert after getting kicked out of my program at the Garrison. I'm just your average teen." I smile a little at the grin that splits across Pidge's face.  

"See?" Hunk nudges her again, almost knocking some gadget or another that she is tinkering with out of her hands from the sheer force of his gesture. Sometimes, like now, I realize how lucky we are that Hunk is so caring, he could easily make for a tough enemy. "Galra Keith is WAY funnier than normal Keith." 

Pidge snorts. She does this a lot around Hunk. We all do. "Dude, he's always been Galra Keith." 

Hunk shakes his head wildly. "No, no. I think KNOWING he is Galra makes him funnier. Like it unlocked a latent humor gene in his Keith DNA." 

Pidge seems to ponder this for a minute before responding. "I mean, we could run some more tests." Which probably means I'm going to end up being poked and prodded with needles, per usual.  

I don't mind the Galra research... at least my heritage can be useful, but I really wish we had more DNA donors. I'm sure Pidge wishes we did too. She's always complaining about sample size, correlation coefficients, and statistical error. 

 I never specialized in the sciences, but we all had to take the core classes at the garrison. I know enough to know it's a nightmare. Plus I'm sick of donating vials of blood. At least she's gotten better with taking it... the first few attempts left me light headed and stumbling to the Med bay, much to Coran's amusement.  

I realize Pidge and Hunk are staring at me, expectantly. I feel my face heating a little, I wasn't paying attention, again. "What?" 

They both roll their eyes, but they don't seem particularly mad about it. "I asked if I could run some more tests on you, Hunk's backwards humor gene theory got me thinking." I try not to frown, but I know I am anyway. I had a sinking feeling that this was going to be unpleasant, and for once, I'm not completely thrilled about being right. Pidge continued, ignoring the grimace settling across my face. "But what if there are other 'latent' traits, real ones... not HUMOR, that have the potential to activate with extreme stress?" 

"Pidge! What a remarkable theory!" I know I've gone stiff. Hunk's giving me a weird look. I can't help it. Any time Allura is around I feel like I'm being judged and found wanting. I know she said she didn't mean to treat me like the scourge of the earth, but It's hard to get over someone inherently not liking you for something that you are. I thought I'd left all that behind on earth. Hoped anyway. 

 I force a passive look on my face, and nod at the princess as she enters the room. It almost feels like a formal event, every time she comes and goes. I had believed that she was royalty the minute she announced it when we first met. She commands a room, commands attention. Commands everyone around her to wish they were anything but half galra. 

Judged. Found wanting. 

"Allura." I try, forcing my voice to sound chipper. I'm not very good at it, and only manage a sound that reminds me of half constipation, half grievous injury . She smiles at me. It's strained but she's trying. I can try too.  

"Keith! Have you become the main specimen in Pidge's most recent Galra experimentation?" Her eyes light up, she's not trying to be mean. I still have to tamper down my initial reaction to flinch anyway. I'll have to get better at that. I wonder if social cues are something you can practice, just like sword fighting. 

"The only one, as usual." I offer a small shrug. "I'm glad to help Voltron." 

Allura puts her hand gently on my arm. I'm still not used to all the open affection given on this ship. I don't know if I ever will be. "Your efforts are always a help to Voltron, in this and your recent role change." Her eyes are almost too bright, I feel like staring too long might leave me blind, but I won't break the gaze first. She's smiling softly at me. "I know leadership is not a role you wanted, but I have no doubt it is one you are suited for." 

Her gaze lingers on mine for a few seconds...ticks? before she swings her attention gracefully to the bouncing scientist in the middle of the room. "So what traits are you specifically looking for?" 

Pidge looks like she might be training for a double-dutch competition, with as much as she's vibrating up and down with excitement. Her glasses bob with each hop, sliding down the bridge of her nose.  Hunk places a hand on her shoulder, her bouncing slows. A little. She beams. "WELL! We haven't actually met a lot of half galra, so we don't really know what to expect from Keith here. Maybe he will end up morphing into a giant ornery purple cat with glowing eyes, maybe he just stays ornery cat in spirit. I think we could do some stress enhanced experimentation and DNA analysis that might provide some insight into what we should expect." 

"Ya'll make it sound like a real swell time." I grunt, trying to keep my voice level. My head hurts.  

Hunk starts laughing. I'm really not sure why this time. "Man, I always forget you're from Texas." My eyes roll. I could say that I tried to stop them, but that would be a lie and I don't have the energy to lie to myself.  The three of them are staring at me, smiling. It's a little unnerving. "C'mon Galra Keith, you trying to tell me that 'Stress enhanced experimentation' doesn’t sound like the best theme park ride ever?" 

This eye rolling thing might become an addiction eventually. For right now it's the only acceptable response to a stupid question. I can only expect more as I inevitably spend more time being poked, prodded and … stressed for Pidge's pursuit of knowledge. Speak of, she's talking again. I really need to work on my attention span around people.  

'…you know, we could... that's not a bad idea, Allura." I shake my head to clear it, even though this tactic never worked all that well before now.  

"What isn't a bad idea?" I whisper to Hunk as the girls chatter on, speaking in fragments I'm not comprehending without the big picture. 

"Allura suggested using Lotor's general.  She's half galra too, but her traits are expressed, while yours are dormant. Might tell us why you haven't changed yet, or if you even will." 

That... that makes a lot of sense. There's something about Acxa that makes me think it is worth asking. "Yes, we should ask her."

The group swings their attention to me, puzzled expressions on their faces.

Allura bites her lip. "But, Keith... we can just take a vial and do a cheek swab, we need not ask. It isn't invasive. And she is a rather captive audience currently." Hunk and Pidge nod encouragingly as Allura laughs a little at her own joke, and it just makes me feel uneasy. How quickly they seemed to forget that SHIRO had been the one recently subjected to unwilling experimentation. How easily it slipped from their memories that SHIRO had been in the situation Acxa was in right now.  

I don't hate myself for being Galra most days. I don’t like the unnecessary tension my past caused within our group, but it's just part of who I am and I mostly accept that.  I did hate myself when Shiro went missing for the second time and I couldn't save him. I hated my race when we finally found him floating in space, a shell of what he normally is. I hated all the Galra when I woke up that first night to the sound of sobbing and soft screams, and found him thrashing around in a nightmare, unable to wake alone. He told me horrible things, things I didn't ever want to know. Things I will never, ever be able to forget. I hated that I had an ounce of Galra in me that night. I never want to be like the rest of them, Zarkon's Galra. 

"I think we should ask her." I state, frown on my face as I survey the three of them. They all begin babbling at me, not aggressively, but it is loud and it is taking all of my energy to get through this. When I speak again, i know my voice is harsh, but I can't seem to keep it gentle anymore.

I lean forward, sinking my head into my hands. "We will not be our enemy. If General Acxa agrees to help us, I look forward to figuring out more about this 'going galra' process. If not, I've got plenty of blood on my own for you to experiment with, Pidge. I will speak with her when I relieve Lance from guard duty later." I force myself to look up, preparing for an outraged team glaring down at me, but I am only met with appraising looks.  

"Spoken like a true, diplomatic leader." Allura says softly, nodding. I scoff a little too loudly to be polite, but then again, I don't think scoffing is considered polite as a general rule. I'll have to ask someone later. She shakes her head at me, but she is still smiling, so I have to assume she isn't mad at me.  

Pidge and Hunk are quiet, but seem to agree with Allura.  

"I'll type up something with a list of stuff we want to do with her samples, she can read over that, if you would like, Keith." 

I smile at her. "Thank you, Pidge." She nods and bustles away to start typing up the document. I didn't realize she was planning on getting started now, but better now than never. It doesn’t take her long before she is bounding back over to me, document in hand. I rise, stretching a little until I feel the familiar pop of my joints.  

I don't want to be around people right now. I can only socialize poorly for so long before I feel like banging my head against the wall, so I allow my steps to guide me down the familiar path to the training deck.  I hear Hunk snickering as I leave, muttering something about 'going galra.' I ignore it. They will only pull me back in.

I practice for a while, not letting my thoughts stray too far from the gladiators stalking around me. This is my element. Sometimes I feel like I am made for war, for combat. Everything gets easier, the noises disappear, my body just moves. I know my team thinks I'm a perfectionist, and maybe it started that way, but somewhere down the line, moving in this violent dance became easier than breathing.  

When my joints stiffen from overuse I halt the simulation. The gladiator in front of me deactivates and the robotic shell is pulled back into the floor for storage. I grab a towel, wiping sweat from my face and neck.  

Maybe my prowess for combat is a galra trait. Maybe all galra will ever be are genetic death machines. What will the place be for soldiers when the war is over? What will people like myself, like Acxa do? 

My thoughts are racing again, and I find myself suddenly wishing I hadn't overdone it on the simulation, so I could just take another crack at it, but no. Now I have to let myself think.  

Okay, well... Acxa. Acxa is a real puzzle. She's been here for a few weeks, almost a month really. We've spoken on several occasions, trading thoughts almost every time I guard her room.  She doesn't seem to mind my company, but she's mentioned she hates Lances. I find that funny. Ladies man can't get the girl.

The day that we brought her back to the ship had been a strange one.  The other generals had escaped, but we had managed to capture Acxa, in no small part because she had frozen in what I assume had to be shock when we went head to head.  

I had recognized her, almost immediately. Saving someone from the stomach of a giant worm isn't something you forget easily. She had recognized me too, that was pretty obvious. Her eyes had been so wide as she stared at me, jaw slack. I'm not sure what she saw, but the opening was enough for Lance to sweep up from behind and subdue her. She hadn't stopped staring at me.  

When we got her back on the ship, she finally decided to stop staring at me quite so overtly, thanks in part to some shitty pick-up lines thrown her way by Lance. I quickly volunteered to be one of the guards at her door, I wanted to find out more about her, and I was only hoping that her eagerness to stare might translate to eagerness to talk.  

It did. She talks a lot.  

She started by asking me questions, but I'm no idiot. I don't think it's wise to hand over secrets to someone working for the enemy.  She quickly figured out that I wouldn't back down. She told me her name.  

And then we started talking about dumb, pointless crap. We've been talking about pointless stuff almost non-stop. I usually take the night shift, when she should be asleep. But she stays awake and we talk. I am very well aware of how easily she could trap me with this camaraderie. I keep my guard up.  

But I've never met someone that easy to talk to, apart from Shiro or maybe Lance. Up until he was captured (again) Shiro and I would talk about almost anything. It wasn't too draining to talk to him, not like it was with the others. Since we got him back though, I don't know. He's been keeping his distance.  

And Lance... He and I had been getting along fairly well, before we ended up with a high ranking general from Lotor's army as a prisoner. Now he seems ready to lash out at the smallest thing, but it isn't like our fights before. There is nothing friendly about the way he glares at me now.   

We're avoiding each other, I think.  

Probably for the best since he seems to hate me again.  

Lance also really doesn't like Acxa, which surprisingly grates on my nerves a bit. I probably should pay attention to that reaction.  

 He did deserve me clocking him the other day, while he was yelling stupid shit at the top of his lungs. He knows he was an ass. I'm sure Hunk told him. Hunk would have known, even if Lance didn't get it through his thick skull. That whole exchange was exhausting. It's been taking a lot more energy recently to put up with Lance. 

It doesn't take a lot of energy to talk to Acxa. Part of me wants to try to convince her to join our alliance, but I know we could never trust her. She's too close to Lotor. 

Shift changes in two hours. What was that in Altean time? I can't remember.  I'm not going early, not since I realized that if I time it right, Lance stomps away right as I walk in. Little to no interaction.  

And then I'll ask her if I can have her blood, but probably not like that.  

 Maybe she'll agree to be a guinea pig with me. Maybe I'll get to learn more about who I am. Maybe I'll figure out why she's so familiar.  


	4. Angst is overrated - Pidge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge sets up for her experiments and does not kill Lance, and honestly that's pretty impressive.

I've recently found myself fascinated with the limitations of the human body. If it weren't for silly things like pain receptors, people would really be capable of insane feats of strength.  Shiro's galra tech arm, for example, is made to withstand massive amounts of pressure, and because of this, is able to exert extreme crushing power, far surpassing the normal grip strength of a human. Sometimes I find myself glad that we're equipped with such fail safes. If we weren't, my eyes might have literally rolled out of my head from the sheer regularity of which I am constantly rolling them. Unfortunately for me, the frequency is only going to be exponentially increasing, as Lance is refusing to leave my lab once again.

With every sigh, huff, and groan echoing from across the room, I wonder if my eyes might just ignore my puny biological resistance and roll away anyway.  As the lump of human angst flails woefully from his current perch on the sofa, I decide it might be for the best that my eyes give up and I start looking for a bucket to catch them with. Really, I've been very accommodating to this constant annoyance. I've done nothing to deserve this, except be the lump's friend. 

We all have our regrets.

Really, I should probably be accustomed to this dramatic behavior. Lance has been wallowing for weeks. It seems to have gotten worse recently, but when I tried to ask him about it he only increased his flailing. At some point I'll get Hunk by himself and just ask him. Judging from the way he keeps grinning at Lance's lamenting, he probably knows something.

Hunk won't hide the truth from me for long, he knows I still owe him payback for reading my diary. Really, these fools can't keep things hidden from me for long. 

Lance makes another particularly loud groan, flopping awkwardly on the couch. 

 I'm a good friend. I'm letting him stay in here, aren't I? Sure, my fingers have been twitching a lot recently, itching to test out my revamped sentry bot on him. But I'm not using him for target practice. 

I haven't yet anyway, and that speaks volumes of my capacity for restraint.

Honestly, he wouldn't be so annoying if I wasn't so excited about my latest project. I'm usually slightly better at sympathizing, but Hunk's latest theory on Galra DNA has us both thrilled.  It's an avenue we haven't pursued yet and it could lead to some pretty cool exposition for our mysterious once red - now black paladin. Hunk and I have both come up with a standard set of stress tests that we can run on Keith and our new volunteer, General Acxa. 

Everyone was pretty surprised when she agreed to join in the experiments. Lance was spluttering about it for days. I think she's as interested as we are in the potential outcomes of the experiment, which is a shame seeing as she won't ever know our results. The last thing we need is that information potentially getting back to Lotor and the Galran empire. As nicely as she seems to be playing with Keith lately, she's obviously pretty loyal to the walking shampoo commercial that is her boss.

Hahaha. Lo'toreal. Sometimes I impress myself.  I open my mouth to share my most recent pun with Lance, but he ruins it by opening his first.

"UUUUUGH."

He doesn't deserve my puns.

"Lance, if you don't stop acting like a dying fish, I'll lock you in the training deck with the gladiator set to level ten, and I'll override the settings so it just chases you around for hours."

He sits up. "Okay, but that's just cruel?" At least he doesn't sound like a dying cow currently. I'll have to take this as a minor success.

"Use your big boy words or get out, Lance." Oh look, there go my eyes, rolling again. Might set a record at this rate, which would be pretty cool, but I doubt the Guinness Records people actually make castle-ship calls. 

"Okay, fine." He settles his arms across his chest defensively, which is probably smart. I'm a terror. He's pouting. "I don't get why everyone is just so accepting of this Galra bitch?" Lance is glaring at me, and sure he has a pretty impressive glare, if you're a wuss. 

I'm not a wuss. I'm not fazed by his meager attempts at intimidation. I just raise an eyebrow at him, completely unimpressed. 

He rolls his eyes for a change. I'm not offering a bucket to catch them if his roll out of the sockets. That is a luxury given to people that don't sigh passive aggressively from across my lab for hours on end.

"Allura hated Keith as soon as she found out he even had Galra blood, but she's completely fine with Keith being chummy with  _her_?" He's pretty damn frustrated, I can tell. His hands are messing with his hair, ruining the massive amounts of work he puts into styling it every morning.  Everyone in the castle knows. He spends just about as much time merely  _telling_ us about his process. 

Apparently, he wasn't done... he's still talking. "And Hunk just seems to think it's a joke? And now she's gonna be palling around while you guys run tests on them?"

There should be Olympic medals given for the angsting. Lance might win. Really, when I think about it, his only competition would be Keith.

"Okay, rewind?" I step away from my desk to throw myself on the couch beside Lance. "First, I'm pretty sure Allura still has her hang ups about Galra, she's probably trying to show Keith she trusts him." I shrug. "Besides, when have any of us really been able to tell Keith what to do?" 

"I have." Lance mumbles, looking at his hands twisting in his lap.

I almost didn't catch the words, but yeah. Lance is right. Even when Shiro was gone, Lance was able to pull Keith away from the edge. 

"Okay, valid. Let's move on... Hunk thinks it's a joke?" I frown at him. "What do you mean?"

He's mumbling again, but I catch his words this time. "He completely dismisses the way I feel towards Acxa." His voice elevates as he continues. "Everyone does! She's bad news!!"

"Do you really think any of us actually trust her? Dude, she's in a cell. She's a captive." If anyone should know, Lance should. He's been taking just as many turns as Keith on guard duty.

"She's playing Keith! She's just using the fact he wants to get in her pants to win him over, and then she's gonna screw us all over." His brow is furrowed, fingers clenched in his hair again.

I can't help it. I burst out laughing. I might even be snorting a little bit, but the only witness is Lance and he knows I'll murder him in his sleep if he tells.

"ARE. YOU. SERIOUS?" I might be wheezing. I honestly can't tell at this point, my body is literally shaking.

 "THAT IS THE MOST..." 

I'm searching for words, there really isn't anything suitable. 

"...RIDICULOUS" 

That was weak. I'm better than that.

"...THING I'VE EVER HEARD."

Lance might be glaring even harder than he was before. 

"I know it's crazy, Mullet's got no game." He puts a forced smirk on his face. "She could have at least picked a worthy target."

I'm staring a little incredulously at him.

"No dude, it's ridiculous because Keith's g.." The familiar whoosh of the automatic doors keeps me from finishing my statement as both Lance and I swing around to eye the intruders.

The doors to the lab slide open, Keith standing behind them with General Acxa in tow, her hands confined with energy cuffs. 

"Speak of the devil and she appears." Lance sneers, eyes locked on the General. 

"Always glad to meet a fan." She looks smugly back at him, eyebrow hitched.  Gotta give it to her, that was pretty solid. Keith rolls his eyes. I might offer him a bucket, he generally keeps his angsting to a dull roar around me.

"Hunk came by and told me you wanted to go ahead and start testing this evening?" Keith meets my eyes with a level gaze. 

"Yup. Nothing major. I just need to take a few samples, standard stuff. Cheek swab, blood sample, strand of hair... etc. It will take a while to do some sequencing and figure out the similarities, so we can let the program run overnight and start doing the rigorous testing tomorrow afternoon." Keith and General Acxa glance at each other briefly before nodding in tandem. Creepy. 

Maybe Galra have a pack mentality? That could explain the quick bonding. Or maybe it's a half-galra trait.  I'm definitely making a note to do some more research on the subject. Lance's loud scoffing pulls me out of my thoughts. Annoyed, I stare over at him. He's now standing in front of General Acxa, puffing out his chest and widening his stance. It looks like he's attempting to murder her with his eyes. 

I almost feel bad for the guy when the General just rolls her eyes at Lance, mostly ignoring him and nudges Keith with her eyebrow raised again. 

I actually feel bad for Lance when Keith looks at her with a half-smile and shrugs. I can see Lance's eye twitching, and it looks like he's about to fracture into a million pieces. 

Deciding to be merciful, I grab my thrown-together testing kit and stride forward to the two half galra staring at me a little warily. I gesture for them to both sit down. I'm so glad I've gotten better at this, Keith doesn't even flinch as I take the necessary samples from him and I fill four small vials with his blood quickly before smearing a clotting agent over the puncture wound.

I'm a little surprised when I turn towards General Acxa to see her face full of wariness as she eyes the needle. I mean, I probably should be more understanding. It's hard to be calm about being approached by a fifteen-year-old eagerly looking to draw your blood. Probably doesn’t help that I'm one of the people keeping her captive.

Lance is laughing. "Oh, this is RICH!" He's looking at the General with derision. "Is the mighty general scared of a little prick?"

Oh man, he's just setting himself up at this point. I really feel bad for the guy now. 

"I think we've already established I'm not scared of you." General Acxa smiles sweetly at Lance. He turns a violent shade of red. He might explode. I really hope he doesn't, that would make forming Voltron really difficult. I'm not sure the Red lion will respond to us piling Lance mush in her pilot's seat. Lance's face looks like he swallowed something bitter. Might have been his pride. 

General Acxa looks back at me, still standing in front of her holding the needle, and then her gaze shifts back to Keith. He reaches towards her slowly and squeezes her shoulder.  I hear Lance make a noise that is a surprisingly good impression of a wilting Pac-Man.  Ignoring Lance, General Acxa straightens her back, and with an almost imperceptible nod towards me, holds out her arm. I swiftly stopper and label the vials.

I quickly return to my desk, punching some preliminary data into my computer before putting the samples into the makeshift sequencer Hunk and I had recently built.  Keith walks the General back out of my lab and I am left in my lab once again with the exasperated sighs Lance.

"LANCE. If you are going to stay in here and continue impersonating the big bad wolf, can you at least be useful?" I gesture to the table near him. "I need one of the Keith samples and one of the Acxa samples for initial analysis." 

He groans and grabs two of the vials. He stops briefly to scribble something on the labels with a nearby pen. Smiling widely, he brings the samples to me handing them off gently before storming off, a rant already spewing from his mouth as he exits my lab. 

Finally.

Looking down, I'm not proud to say I giggle as I put the newly labeled samples "General Asshat" and "Keith your pants on" into my sequencer.  I can hear the chirping machine as it immediately begins the analysis of the two samples.  Groaning, I stand and stretch leaving my lab equipment to process overnight.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to running my experiments tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoy.


	5. It's a small world after all. - Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance unhappily provides security detail for the experiments on Keith and Acxa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to give some solid years in here for birthdays, So I assumed that the current year for the Voltron universe is 2031.

As a general rule, I live life with no regrets. That's like my third favorite motto. 

Still, no one is perfect. Humility is one of my top qualities. Seriously, I put that shit on my application for the Garrison. 

So, as a completely humble guy, I'm willing to admit that agreeing to sit in on Pidge's most recent science experiment was the worst damn decision of my life. They have me sitting by the only exit to the lab with the instructions to 'shoot to incapacitate if the prisoner tries to escape', which, duh? The walking last ditch attempt to get rid of the 'X' tile in a Scrabble game is many things, but she sure as hell isn't dumb. No shit she's going to try to run, Pidge has all but promised the cuffs will be off while they are doing the stress testing. She had all night to plan an escape attempt, and unless Keith kept her busy... Blegh... she's gonna have a game plan. 

I had mentioned this oversight to Allura and Shiro, and I was pretty pleased with the pats on the back I got for my 'intuition and forward thinking' (Allura's words, not mine) until they decided that since I had the forethought to see the flaws, I should be the one to oversee the testing. Pidge is too into her science game, and as much as I love the guy, Hunk is almost as much of a lost cause as Pidge is when he gets science-ing. Keith is obviously being tested, so he can't exactly head up security detail himself. 

So here I sit. By the door. Having to watch a dumb pair of aliens do dumb things with a bunch of wires and nodes on them, while a little machine in the corner records their information. 

Well, I would be.

Pidge and Hunk are taking their sweet time setting up this crap, and Keith and his galra girlfriend are just sitting on the little stage area that has been put up in the middle of the lab. I scan the room again, to help me feel more productive, and my eyes settle again on the half-aliens animatedly chatting with each other.  Keith and Accessory are both wearing what look to be black tank tops and black biker shorts. They look like one of those gross couples that go to the gym together to take selfies and not work out at all.  

Eye. Roll.

My eyes fixate on Keith. Alright, he could probably kick my ass in just about any athletic activity. He's just made of muscle, but dude's not bulky. Jerk was probably born with a six pack, bench pressing his milk bottles.

I snort a little. I gotta admit, baby Keith sounds cute. Probably a righteous pain in the ass, just like eighteen-year-old Keith, but still cute. 

OKAY. Whoa, not that regular age Keith is cute. 

He's not.

Regular age Keith has the personality and looks of a wet koala. Seriously, nature went too far with those creatures. 

A loud grunt from the desk has me shaking my head to clear the horror that is wet koala from my mind. Pidge and Hunk are beaming, Hunk's clapping his hands together as he addresses us.

"Okay! Let's get started!" Hunk grabs a holo-pad from the desk and chatters on. "We need to verify standard stats with both of you, and we can run the experiments with those as a baseline!" He turns to Keith. "Alright buddy, you first! We have you down with a height of six feet, weight of one forty-five pounds. You're nineteen years old?" 

I tune out again as Keith responds. Six feet huh? That means I've got to at least be six foot four, which is pretty cool. I was never into sports like basketball, but it's good to have my options open when this Voltron thing is dunzo. Hunk's probably gonna open a restaurant and work on cars and planes in his free time, Pidge is gonna invent some super useful tech or end up in jail for starting a war. Toss up at this point. I'll be surprised if Shiro actually comes back to earth at all. Keith only has a shack in the desert to go back to, so he'll probably just stay up here.  

"Lance?" Pidge is looking at me. I give her a sheepish grin as I pull myself out of my thoughts. 

"Sup shortie?" She rolls her eyes at me, but decides to answer me anyway, despite the nickname.

"You were frowning. Something wrong?" She glances back towards the center of the room, eyes on the test subjects. "We haven't even started testing yet, can you tell something's off?"

I shrug. "Nah, I just got bored, started thinking about other things." My gaze follows hers towards the three people in the middle of the room, settling firmly back on Keith. Curse my persistent eyeballs!

Pidge being Pidge, notices immediately. Hunk is calling her back over, saving me from her incessant and completely unprovoked teasing. She bounds over to the group. I decide with a sigh that I might as well do my job since I'm stuck here. I tune back into the conversation.

"And last but not least, General Acxa, please verify your date of birth?" Hunk glances at the Galran girl. "Wait, do you guys have the standard calendar? Oh gosh, how are we gonna verify age, Pidge!"

Acxcio coughs into a fist. She might be laughing, she might have constipation. It's hard to tell. "My family was familiar with Terran time. I know my birthtime." She clears her throat slightly before continuing. "I was born October 23, 2012." 

I ignore the looks Hunk and Pidge are giving each other in favor of looking at Keith. His eyes are firmly locked onto Acx-pelliarmus, but his face is relaxed. (That's two Harry Potter references in a row, am I losing my touch?) 

Hunk laughs nervously. "Alright, so Pidge and I have decided that combat is pretty much the name of the game. Shiro and Coran helped us bring some gladiators in here, so we are going to have a total of five rounds. You each get a solo round facing one gladiator, followed by a solo round with multiple opponents. The last round will be a combined one, with as many gladiators as the castle will allow, but you both will fight at the same time." Hunk and Pidge are looking eagerly between their subjects, both of which shrug nonchalantly at the request. 

Pidge grins. "Acxa, let's have you go first." Acx-pecto Patronum nods and steps center stage. (Damn it that one was too good to let go, I'll worry about originality later. It's not like I'm saying them out loud anyway.)

"Begin simulation." There is a whirl of motion as she launches herself over the gladiator, grabbing its head as she flips, throwing the robot against the nearby wall with a satisfying crunch. She spins towards us, throwing a wink at Keith. My face twitches a little at the affectionate eye roll he gives her. No one gets affectionate eye rolls from Keith! She makes eye contact with me for the longest second of my life, and I may or may not gulp. No one can prove anything. She turns towards the others in a fluid movement, smiling serenely at Pidge and Hunk. 

They both look giddy, and hand her a small blade for the next round. It doesn't take long before she has dispatched of the five gladiators, ruthlessly driving the dagger into them, one after the other. If she wasn't my mortal enemy, I probably would be impressed. I try to keep my face uninterested. I think I end up with something that might mimic apathy, so I'll consider it a success. 

Keith grins at her as they switch places. 

Watching Keith fight has always felt like watching a dancer. His moves are fluid and just as ruthless as the female galra we just observed. His first round lasts no longer than hers; he disabled the gladiator with a clean knockdown before snapping its neck. After grabbing a blade, he takes on the group of gladiators, and... I can't help but notice.

Keith is grinning. Widely. If he grins any harder his jaw might fall off and we'll have to find a space hospital. His dark hair is whipping around with his body's abrupt changes in direction. His eyes are shining, the purple almost brighter, even from over here. His smile is almost glowing. 

He looks majestic as fuck. 

My chest is doing that weird thing that it does, where my heart forgets it's supposed to stick to one rhythm, not practice for drum auditions. I'm still staring even as he finishes his round. He turns towards the chick and he... 

Keith just fucking curtsied, smirking at us. I take it back. I need a space hospital. If Keith's jaw falls off it's his own damn fault, I'm the one over here that can't fucking breath. What is this fresh hell.

Pidge and Hunk clap, just as impressed with the display as I am. They decide to give the two fighters a break before the final round, throwing goo-pouches at them. Both packs are caught easily. Keith and his dumb girlfriend look like they are gonna go back to whispering to each other again, and before I actually think it through, I'm walking over to the pair. Keith raises a brow at me, but stands and meets me half way.

"Sharp work Samurai." I shoot him a half smile. "Never see that level of flair during our normal training."

He manages to look sheepish, hunching over a little. I can't help but enjoy the increased height difference with his slouched posture. 

"What would I gain from showing off in practice?" 

I roll my eyes at him, sighing dramatically. He looks so in his element when he fights like that, and that smile. 

I mean, honestly, he probably didn't have anything to gain from being that flashy in the training deck...  _but hey, at least it'd be fun for me to watch._

Keith is looking at me funny, and turning red... which is a really weird reaction to...

Oh god. I'd said it out loud.

I'd said it out loud, and now I couldn't find my voice to just laugh it off and tell him it was a joke. And he's just staring at me? I force myself to turn away from him and cross the room to take a seat by the door again. I catch Acxa out of the corner of my eye, she's putting something down on one of the tables, crossing her arms. I shake my head, failing to clear the muddled thoughts. I don't pay attention as the final round starts. I barely pay attention as the two half-galra take on twenty gladiator simulations at once. I sort of watch as the two move as one, both grinning widely at the natural teamwork. 

Sometimes I wish I put looks like that on his face. 

Sometimes I wish we worked that flawlessly.

This round lasts longer than the rest, and even from here it is clear that this might be the first round that is actually hitting the two fighters. Their movements aren't lagging behind, but they are having to be more strategic, and I wonder if this hadn't been Pidge and Hunk's plan all along. Brute force wasn't getting them through this fight. If anyone else were on the platform, we would've had to end the simulation already. 

Even with no strategy, no planning before the battle, these two move like they've been partners forever. They aren't ever in each other's way, and whatever telepathic conversation they are having is making it possible for them to coordinate complicated combos, tag-teaming their opponents. They are breathing heavily as the last gladiator falls at their feet, and standing back to back they high five without looking. (Which really is more impressive because Acxa looks a good four inches taller than Keith.) 

They might as well have walked away from an explosion while putting on sunglasses. That was fucking cool. Damn it.

 Maybe I should stop being such an ass, maybe I should just be happy for Keith, for finding someone so like him. I'd never be able to keep up like that. Not that I'd want to try, obviously.

Pidge and Hunk run a few more tests, which last for a few hours. They zap the two with electricity at what Pidge is claiming are 'critical response points.'  They also retake measurements, which seems redundant to me, but whatever I'm not the brains of this operation.

A loud beeping from the sequencer on the back-counter shocks everyone, all five of our heads swivel towards the source. 

"It's ready!" Pidge exclaims, running over to the machine. She jumps on her laptop as the data populates. She pours over the screen, a weird blue glow highlighting her face. Her eyes widen and she chokes out Hunk's name. My buddy jerks up and rushes over, eyes widening just like Pidge's had. 

"Lance, please can you escort General Acxa to her quarters?" Hunk turns towards me, shock visible in his eyes. Normally, I'd just do it. Hunk doesn't ask for stuff most of the time. This time though, this time it feels like I am being sent away, so that the rest of the group can talk about something I'm clearly not important enough to be part of. Pidge even fucking confirms it.

"Can you also get Shiro and Allura in here? Coran too if you can track him down."

My eye is twitching. I know I'm glaring at them, and yeah. Probably shouldn't do that. But what the fuck. Why am I being dismissed? I helped here! I care about this too, sorta!

"Yeah I'll just get out of your fucking hair then." I grab General Acx-cident and activate the energy cuffs on her wrist before roughly leading her back to her room. 

This is such fucking bullshit. Keith was probably learning something crazy about his Galra half, and I wasn't going to be there to support him. Not that he wanted my support. Not that I want to support him. Just... I'm feeling excluded. 

It's bullshit that I'm leading a prisoner around the castle.

It's bullshit that no one asked my how I felt about being delegated to this task.

It's bullshit that this hurts so fucking much.

It's extra bullshit when I feel a sharp pain in my side, as I start to fall to my knees as the pain overwhelms me. My hands release my prisoner as my fingers awkwardly fumble to put pressure on the now blood-red stain blooming over my torso. I can't look away. I think my fingers are tingling. My vision is swimming, which is perfectly fine cause I always liked the water. I can hear voices above me.

"Ezor! What did I tell you about killing!" 

"Baaabe! I'm performing a dramatic and super romantic rescue here!" 

"Nnng! Not the time. You didn't even know where I was until I sent that signal."

"That's not the point! I was ready at a moment's notice! It's romantic!" I feel something nudge my thigh. I don't want to respond to it. The red is spreading and it's kind of pretty to watch, so I ignore the nudge.

"What are we going to do with him, there a room he can bleed out in peacefully?" 

"EZOR. We're not letting him bleed out." I can feel arms hooking underneath mine. This might be what fish feel like, but like with more pain? Usually they have holes in them when they get hooked. I look back at my side. Oh yeah. Nevermind, this might be exactly the way fish feel.

"Why is he so important?" A new set of arms grabs my legs, and suddenly I'm flying, but not in the good way like when I'm flying blue or red.

"Remember that guy from the Weblum, the one that rescued me?" This type of flying is very jerky, and I would be very happy if it would end quickly. I think I preferred feeling like a fish. I want to go swimming.

"Oh, the half-galra paladin?" The voices around me are going in and out. I wish they would shut up, and let me stop flying. I try to tell them that, but I'm not sure they got the message. 

"For fuck's sake, Ezor, what was on your knife?"

"Ummm, the power of Love?" I am done flying. I am sick of flying. Sometimes when you are flying and you just don't want to fly anymore, you just gotta put on the brakes. So I do. I wiggle aggressively and land on something hard with a thud. At least I'm not flying anymore.

"He's a feisty one!" One of the voices groans, loudly. I can hear it from all the way down here. "Still don't want to kill him?"

"Gah, let's just get him to the bed."

"Noooo, I don't want to fly anymore!" I moan, frustrated. I'm not ready to fly again. Even Allura isn't this bad about forcing us to train. I blearily blink, trying to clear my vision. When did the brightly colored galran get here? I frown at her, forcing myself to sit up. "I haven't come up with any names for you yet, so please give me a minute."

She looks at... Acxa. I ran out of nicknames. It was going to happen eventually. I sigh. Acxa just shrugs.

"Hang on, I'll give him an antidote." Acxa smiles at the chameleon galra fondly. A thought makes its way through my muddy brain. 

"Does Keith know you have a girlfriend?"

 Acxa raises a brow at me. "Why would he care, not like he has any place to judge?" She looks me over twice and rolls her eyes. I can feel her trying to staunch the bleeding from my wound, and I groan and flop over, sweating from the pain. Whatever had been on the chameleon galra's knife was definitely impacting my ability to react. Acxa is poking and prodding at my side, and she's not exactly being gentle. I feel something sharp bite into my skin, and I let my eyes roam until I find the source. A large needle is being plunged into my side, and I can feel fire flow through me as the liquid enters my body.

The good news is my fingers have stopped tingling.

The better news is that they are still attached.

I'm tired and my vision is blurry. Or maybe everything else is blurry and my vision is fine. I'm also really disappointed I ran out of nicknames. I expect better.  I huff, forcing myself to sit up and lean against the wall. "Keith deserves better than you."

Acxa seems like she is preparing to answer me, confusion spreading over her face, but my vision is swimming again. The chameleon lady walks forward, smug smile plastered on her face. I slump over completely, barely hearing the next words the chameleon lady says.

"Man, he is obsessed with your brother." 


	6. Marks. - Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The human race tends to remember the abuses to which it has been subjected rather than the endearments. What's left of kisses? Wounds, however, leave scars.” - Bertolt Brecht
> 
> Keith and the gang deal with the findings of the testing and find themselves playing hosts to a... less than welcome guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT'S THIS??? AN UPDATE NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?? EGADS.
> 
> I did undergrad work on fraternal vs identical twins, and this is causing flashbacks.  
> And people say I don't use my degree. Bah.  
> Also I've stared at the word 'twin' enough that it looks like a typo.  
> ...  
> ENJOY.

"Sister." I sink down onto one of the benches near me. "Sister?" I squeak out. Pidge bites down on her lip, her eyes are trained on me. Hunk doesn't seem to be fairing much better. He babbles for a minute before sinking down onto the bench beside me.  

"Hey buddy, I know this is a shock... but we're here for you, alright?" Hunk gestures to Pidge, nodding fervently behind him. "We all are." He places a hesitant hand on my back, I'm sure it's supposed to be comforting. Mostly it's just heavy. 

"And you're sure? One hundred percent positive?" I level a gaze at Pidge, flexing my fingers in my lap. My fingers ache from the recent fights, but that's what I get for keeping a death grip on my dagger.  

Pidge seems reluctant to speak up, mumbling a little to herself. I just continue staring. I don't have the energy to force an answer out of her.  

She finally sighs. "Yes. We are certain. You have over a fifty percent DNA match, which is past the margins for what siblings share. Combined with the shared birthdate and age... we can safely say you two are fraternal twins."  

"And if you wanna like, think about the non-scientific side, you guys act like siblings too." Hunk chuckles awkwardly, patting my back. I grunt at him. 

I thread my fingers through my hair. I should probably be shocked.  Maybe if I hadn't spent the last month getting to know her, it would be a surprise. As it stands, knowing that Acxa is my sister is kind of like finally finding the last corner piece on a jigsaw puzzle. I still can't see the whole picture, but I'm starting to figure out what I'm working with.   

Sister. 

Twin sister. 

Family.  

Okay, I lied.  I'm overwhelmed. Pidge and Hunk are talking above me. Hunk finally stopped trying to console my back and is at Pidge's desk, pouring over the results of the testing.  

"...could mean for his galran trait expression?" 

"obviously stress triggers work." 

I've spent most of my life alone. My dad was a deadbeat that disappeared when I was a kid, dropping me off at a group home. I never was adopted, I never had a foster family want to keep me for more than a few months. The only real connection I made before being launched into space was with Shiro.  

"Ooh, you're right, look at these values here, they far surpass his baselines." 

"Only got faster when the difficulty was ramped up to max." 

Now I'm in space and surrounded by connections I never knew I had. It had been surprising enough to find out I'm an alien. Now I have a sister, scratch that... a twin sister. A twin alien sister. A twin alien sister that I saved from a giant space worm. A twin alien sister that works for our enemy. A twin alien sister that we have hostage. 

I'm fine.  

Completely fine.  

"Maybe it's a survival thing, like instead of fight or flight, it's fight and fight more!" 

This can't be real. Stuff like this doesn't happen in real life, only in those trope-y movies Lance loves to watch. I'm frowning as I absent-mindedly run a hand over my left shoulder. The compression tank top I was forced into for the testing leaves my skin exposed. 

"...much stress would it take for those traits to physically express?" 

"Dunno, gotta be a threshold though!" 

 A little reluctantly, I look over at the weird purplish mark I've had my whole life. Acxa has a matching one on her right shoulder. I'd found that out completely by accident. I'd hit the training deck hard that day, taken a particularly rough hit from the gladiator that managed to break the skin, even through my armor. I'd shoved an ice pack under the pauldron. Acxa had laughed at me, and somehow the conversation had turned into a competition based on who had the best wound stories.  

"Maybe he'll get taller!" 

"That would probably hurt like hell." 

I huff a little at the bits and pieces of conversation that filter through my thoughts. I tune them out. It's pretty easy to do at this point, I'm more than willing to sink back into my thoughts. It's been awhile since that interaction. I think Acxa had removed her chest piece and pauldrons to show me a scar that ran from the bottom of her throat to the tip of her right shoulder, yeah that sounds right. The mark that sat on her skin was darker purple than mine, but had caught my attention immediately. I'd shown her my birthmark on the opposite shoulder, and she had stared at me with wide eyes. 

 I had figured the mark was just a galra thing. 

 Maybe she knew then.  

Okay, I'll just keep analyzing every interaction Acxa and I ever had, if I let myself. I roll my eyes, forcing myself back to the present.   

"...turn him purple?" 

"Really, Hunk? Is that the only reason you care about the potential gene expression?" 

"No!" There is a significant pause, I can almost hear Pidge glaring at the Yellow Paladin. "I mean, maybe."  

If I ever find purple paint in space, I'm going to paint my face just to make Hunk freak out. That would probably have the added bonus of freaking Lance out too. Neither one of them ever seem to expect my jokes. Maybe Shiro's right, maybe I do need to work on relaxing more around the others. It's not like it comes easily to me, like it does for Lance. 

Speaking of Lance... 

I pop up quickly, making Hunk and Pidge jump. "Have we heard from Lance?" 

Pidge frowns, looking down at the ticker on her wrist. "No, we haven't... and he's had more than enough time to touch base. Probably sulking about having guard duty again." 

That... doesn't feel right. Lance gets pissy... sure, but he's good about doing his job.  

"Can you check the camera feed from the hall near Acxa's room?" 

Pidge looks at me quizzically for a minute before bringing up the feed on her computer. I stare at the image over her shoulder.  

The hallway is completely dead, no movement. I share a glance with the other two.  

"Alright, I'm gonna check on him."  

Hunk nods. "Let us know if anything seems weird, okay buddy?" 

I nod absentmindedly, securing my dagger in the elastic of my compression shorts. I grab my bayard from the table. Can never be too careful. A hand on my forearm stops me from bolting out of the lab.  

"Keith. Seriously. Don't run into anything blind." I roll my eyes pointedly at Pidge.  

"Does that really sound like me, I'd never." I flash them a grin as I shake off Pidge's grip and shoot through the lab doors.  

As the doors close behind me, I've got to admit... I don't really have a plan here. Shrugging to myself, I set off in the most direct path towards Acxa's room. I'm not running, per se... it's more of a light jog. Maybe like a brisk walk. I can't help the weird sensation in my stomach, that little lurching sensation you get when an elevator starts moving.  

I scan the hallways for movement as I follow the familiar path, hand firmly gripping my bayard. I'm paying very close attention to my surroundings, but maybe not enough attention on the floor. I feel the loss of traction the second I start skidding. My feet fly out from underneath me and I land hard on my ass.  

I groan a little as I sit up, looking for whatever made me fall. 

My heart stutters a little as I look down at the red sticky fluid now covering my legs and hands.  

I'm sitting in a huge pool of blood. The elevator in my stomach must be free falling now. The hair at the back of my neck is straight on end. I glance down the hallway, noticing patches of blood dotting the floor.  

I scramble to my feet quickly. I'm in a dead run now, throwing myself forward as I follow the morbid trail. I slap a hand over my wrist on the ticker/ communicator Allura demands we wear.  

"Blood in the hallway, looking for Lance." 

Hunk responds immediately, voice crackling through the small device. "Shit. Keith, you don't have your armor! Wait for us!" 

"No time, just catch up!" I release the button, swinging around a corner as I follow what is most likely Lance's blood.  I'm mumbling to myself. "Lance, you're supposed to keep your blood on the inside, you idiot." I gulp as I scramble down another hallway. "You better not be dead, you asshole." 

My eyes fixate on a sharp movement in front of me. I push myself forward around a final corner before my eyes lock onto hers. The chameleon galra hybrid shoots me a smirk an instant before she disappears. Another one of Lotor's generals is on our ship. I activate my communicator again, this time broadcasting to all of the other paladins.  

"We've been boarded. I can confirm at least one other general on the ship. I need back up now!" 

Allura's voice comes through clearly an instant later. "Confirming your position now. We've got two heat signatures confirmed headed towards the lions' deck. Paladins, at arms!"  

So she's not lurking on this hallway, and with that information I force myself forward again, following Allura's instructions. I'm running faster than I have before, but I can't feel any strain on my muscles or my lungs. There isn't any more blood on the floors, they must have deposited Lance somewhere before trying to make a break for it.  

It isn't long before I catch up to my targets in the pod bay. The chameleon galra is tapping furiously on some handheld device, pointing towards one of our pods.  

I can't pay her much attention as my eyes meet Acxa's.  

I activate my bayard, the familiar weight of the sword is almost comforting in my grip. I growl at my sister.  "What did you do with Lance."  

The chameleon galra pops her head up and grins. "Oh, some guys just can't handle their poison!" The elevator in my stomach crashes violently on the ground, and I can feel bile in my throat. The galra general just continues to smirk at me, still punching buttons on her device.  

I notice Acxa shoot a glare at her companion. I choose to ignore it. I launch myself at her, sword clashing against her bayonet, forcing her gun upwards. Her eyes widen marginally as her attention is force back on me.  

"Acxa!" The chameleon galra drops her device, scrambling towards us as we grapple.  

"Work on the pod, Ezor! I've got this!" I shoulder check her, forcing her to stumble backwards.  She growls at me, whirling towards me, lashing out with a dagger she pulls from her thigh. Looks like 'Ezor' had plenty of time to arm her. The fact that she is now in her combat armor and I'm still in gym clothes isn't lost on me either, but I'm used to fighting with weighted odds. 

"Sure thing, toots!"  

My anger must be making me faster, because I manage to take Acxa by surprise again. Ducking her attack, I spin on my hands, catching her on her ankle with my leg and force her into a combat roll as she tries to avoid falling on her face.  

"C'mon, sis. Surely you can keep up." I growl at her, venom dripping from every word. Her eyes narrow at me and she, almost imperceptibly, grins.  

"Augh! Keep him busy Axxie, someone's overriding the controls!" I hear Ezor yell out, her frustration almost palpable. I send a mental high-five towards Pidge and her hacking skills. 

"ALL PALADINS TO THE FLIGHT DECK NOW."  

Acxa lunges at me, and I duck again letting her soar over my shoulder. I can feel a burning sensation in my limbs and joints, but I ignore it in favor of the fight. I spin around, ready to chide her for her miscalculation only to feel a searing pain in my left shoulder. Her eyes meet mine for a second before she glances briefly at my new injury. Using her brief pause to my advantage, I grab her wrist, twisting the blade in my arm a little, but out of her grip and grin at her. I can feel my warm blood flowing out of the gash, but I don't bother looking at it.  

I use the grip I have on her wrist to force her arm behind her back. Acxa uses the hold to roll forward. The sickening crunch of her shoulder dislocating makes her pale slightly, but she continues with her momentum and I find myself flying through the air to land on my back. I shake the stars from my eyes and force myself up, grabbing her before she can run back to her companion. Belatedly I realize I can hear the familiar  _'_ _zzpt_ _'_ of Hunk's gun. Everything is louder and sharper than normal. Must be the adrenaline. At least I know the others have finally made their way down here.  

I look down at Acxa as she stands straight in front of me. Blood loss must be messing with my perception, she's definitely not shorter than me. Her fist shoots out and connects solidly with my jaw, and using the disorienting blow, she kicks out towards me, and a sharp crack signals the dislocation of one of my knees. I wince as I sink solidly to the floor. Acxa scrambles away towards Ezor.  

Looks like the other general finally got the pod active. Breathing heavily, I force myself to concentrate. I raise my arm behind my head and throw my mother's dagger towards the two. My vision seems sharper than normal, even with the haze trying to take over from my own injury. I mean to aim from her heart, but the dagger sinks solidly through her armor and into her right shoulder. Ezor closes the pod and ejects the two as my sister slumps over. The noise of battle dies down as the two escape. I can hear the other paladins running towards me, their feet echoing on the steel floor.  

"FUCK." 

I force myself to my feet. I wince as I put weight on my bad leg. Turning slowly, I face my fellow paladins. "Has anyone found Lance's body?" 

Hunk stares up at me, a bemused expression on his face. "Uh, yeah. We found him in Acxa's cell... He'll live, buddy. He's waiting in the medbay as we speak." 

I feel the air rush out of my body in relief. "Good. That’s... good." Without the adrenaline from battle, I realize my body is flagging. "I might, uh. Might need some help."  

Allura and Shiro approach, looking at me warily. Shiro is the first to speak. "Absolutely, Keith. I'm sure Hunk and I can get you back to the med bay."  

Pidge stares up at me, eyebrows raise. "I mean, maybe? He looks heavy." 

I let out a breathy laugh, causing concern to flash across my friends' faces. "Now's not the time to pick on my weight, Pidge. Besides, I can probably walk, I just need some... support." 

Allura snorts. "Well I definitely can offer that." She is watching me with morbid fascination. "We're probably going to need to do some work on the pods to... uh accommodate... recent developments." She startles me a little by smiling gently at me. "But we can definitely help ease the pain of those wounds." The princess sidles up to me, pulling my good arm around her shoulders, accepting some of my weight as I lean into her. I give her what I hope comes across as a grateful look. Sometimes it's easy to forget how unbelievably strong she is. 

The others walk behind us, whispering quietly to each other. I ignore them, for the most part. Everything hurts, and the progress we are making is slow, regardless of Allura's strength. I wince with every step.  

As we finally reach the med bay, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the shiny doors before they part to give us entry. My heart thumps loudly in my chest as I look wide-eyed at myself. Allura pauses, and I can see mirror image Allura staring at me worriedly, biting her lip.  

I can't stop staring at the purple vitiligo-like marks marring my skin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, personal info...  
> My partner and I are prepping to get married in December, so my attention has been a little divided. I've got two fics running right now, and my other one has definitely suffered more than this one... (I blame Lance for being so much fun to write.)
> 
> BUT
> 
> I've come up with an updating schedule that works with the horrors of wedding planning.  
> Let me know what you think! I live for constructive criticism and reader input!


	7. Aftermath - Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has some time to reflect, with the help of alien drugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy! This chapter was mostly just me cooing at part galra Keith.  
> And shameless Keith/Lance interaction.  
> Adorable bastards. 
> 
> Also, don't you worry. Lance will have his much awaited embarrassing revelation soon. He's dopey on drugs and changes guys, give him a chance to recuperate.

Back on earth I spent most of my free time swimming.  Haven't really gotten a chance to do much of it since the Great Space Adventure started, but even without water I'm fucking fantastic at still managing to feel like I'm drowning. 

 

Right this particular second my brain is fighting through a drug induced fog. An alien drug induced fog. Whatever Acx-acto knife - Yes, baby. I'm back – and her lesbian lover injected me with is still fucking with my mind. The drowning sensation is occasionally paired with nausea, babling, and slight paranoia. I mean, did I win the side-effect lotto or what. Currently I'm laying on my back, as still as I physically can be, but the room is still spinning with reckless abandon. It's going to get dizzy if it doesn’t stop soon.    

My eyes roam over the ceiling tiles of the medical bay for what is approximately the seventy-fourth time since my friends casually dumped me here and ran off. I would consider myself to be Pretty Familiar with this ceiling by now. We go way back. For example, there's this one tile up in the left corner that is a little too small for the area it was expected to cover. Someone surrounded the edges in space caulk in attempt to keep it all in place.  It really isn't meant to be there. It's sagging a little, unable to really support itself. 

Man... Same. 

Alright. I'm calling it. I've been here too long, I'm sympathizing with the scenery.  Shiro and Hunk had promised to Be Back Soon when they carted my ass in here what was probably HOURS ago, if not DAYS. WEEKS. 

At least I'm not completely alone. Coran is bustling around mumbling about dirty fighting techniques he learned from the Unilu. I stopped really listening to him after he yelled at me for wiggling around and poking my gaping side wound.  

Rude, amiright? 

I just wanted to get comfortable and also maybe see if anything leaked out. That could be cool, maybe. Or maybe it would be gross. I'm not sure.  

The doors to the bay open with that signature 'schiiik' noise they do. I roll my head as gently as I can towards the noise, and suddenly that drowning sensation, the one I've been systematically stomping down, redoubles. 

Allura is holding up what... might be Keith? It's kinda hard to tell. He's covered in blood; Some of it has to be his, well... if the giant gouge in his shoulder is any indication. He's leaning on Allura pretty heavily, almost buckling entirely to one side. I slowly drag my body upright, craning my neck to get a better look at him. 

I can feel a whimper forming at the back of my throat when I really take in the whole picture, but it threatens to forcefully leave my body when I finally see his knee.  

Could be a knee.  

Might have been a knee at one point.  

Maybe. 

Knees are weird, man. 

Keith's eyes lock onto mine, and all at once I'm suddenly uninterested in the weirdness of knees and Keith's not-a-knee. 

Keith and Allura lurch forward as he scrambles towards me with her struggling to be an effective crutch. He braces his weight on the end of the table, using one arm. He doesn't break eye contact, just staring at me, his mouth slightly open. 

Maybe I have something on my face.  

"I... I thought they killed you. " He's babbling. "Hunk said you were okay, but I guess I didn't really believe it until I saw you." Man, Keith could win a staring contest with a statue. His voice is a little burble-y when he speaks, as if he's trying to talk through water. 

Somehow, it's comforting to know I'm not the only one drowning here. 

I open my mouth to say "Nah, just stabbed me a little." It's quirky, charming and oh, so Lance. Would have been a great line.  

Would have.  

Cause what ends up coming out of my mouth instead... 

"Blurkem sthobben lup!" 

You know that stare that Keith was giving me earlier? Apparently, that was child's play compared to this one. 

"Flooop. Keef Eyeem Fiie nuh!" 

Okay, I think I preferred the stares. Now he's glaring.  

"Lance, you have a stab wound in your side." 

I roll my eyes. I'm well fucking aware. "Duuur." I grin at him smarmily. "Buurt 'so kay." 

Keith gulps and finally looks away.  Allura has been hovering at his elbow, and takes the opportunity to drag him to his own med-bed. 

He's still pretty close, and I turn towards him to continue our great conversation.  Unfortunately for me, at this particular time my nausea decides it's time for a comeback tour.  Frowning, I lay back and shut my eyes willing the sensation to pass on.  

Instead I pass out.  

* * *

 

I only realize I've been out of it for a while when I wake back up to dim lights and an empty room.  

"Feeling better?" A voice comes from the end of my bed. I try to play it cool and pretend that I didn't just squeak in terror. Terror squeaks aren't something you live down. 

I yawn, but manage to remind myself not to stretch. My wound is barely holding together as is.  Coran had been really concerned about the toxins of the poison reacting poorly with the skin permeable sedative that the pods use, so for now I'm just healing the old fashion way.  Looks like Keith is too. I wonder if he was poisoned too.  

My eyes finally adjust to the dim light, and I'm suddenly very fucking aware of something that completely passed under my radar earlier. I'll take it as a sign that I clearly had my priorities in order.  

Now that I've noticed though, I'll can't ignore It... no matter how much I want to. Keith... Keith looks like the fucking night sky. He's got these uneven purple splotches covering his skin that make him look like some celestial deity, and I feel all the more mortal just looking at him. 

He's beautiful?   
Clearly, I didn't sleep off enough of the drugs, cause all I want to do right now is tell him that. It's probably definitely a very bad no good idea, but I was stabbed recently. I'll just blame the blood loss when it gets weird. Worked for the Bonding Moment. 

Besides! A bro can totally tell another bro he's beautiful. I'm almost certain. I mean, I compliment Hunk all the time, cause Hunk is a god damn catch, and that never gets weird.  

Today's letter of the day is V.    
V is for Very Gay.    

Keith is leaning on the end of my med-bed, so I have to look up at him to actually see his face. But I'm sitting down, and it definitely doesn't bother me that he's taller right now. I mean. I'm ACTUALLY taller than him, so I'm 100% cool with having to look up at him right now. Completely unfazed. 

I've got the sudden urge to stand up and tower over him, just to remind him of his own short – comings. HEH. But. Coran said no excessive movement until they can get me into a pod. Which means I have to just deal with this living art project looming over me.  

Fan-tas-tic. 

Suddenly, I'm painfully aware that I'm still staring into Keith's eyes. Shit. I've been staring for a while. 

 Say something cool, something suave.    
Just. Don't. Say. Anything. Weird. 

"You look like Lisa Frank's walking wet dream." 

Yeah. Like that. Smooth move, Jackass. 

Keith blinks at me. "I'm sorry, what the shit did you call me?" 

Shit. No. NO. This is fine, I can talk myself out of this one. "Uh, nothing much. You just... you look like a pastel Dalmatian." I shoot finger guns at him, even though at this point it would be more merciful to turn them on myself. 

So maybe I'm not smooth. Maybe I have the singular purpose: trying to get myself killed by Keith. 

He's... Literally growling at me, so I'll say I'm doing a fucking fantastic job.  

"Call me a dog again. I fucking dare you, Lance." 

I gulp, preparing to open my mouth and put a final nail in my coffin when I pause and really look at Keith. Like really look at him. 

He looks like he's coming apart at the seams. His shoulder has been haphazardly bandaged, but I can red pooling against the white gauze. He's leaning to one side, avoiding any pressure on the leg sporting a massively ugly bruise over the knee. He's doing his best impression of a dragon, and it's a pretty spot on performance. 10/10 can almost see flames.  His black hair is a mess, falling haphazardly across his face.  

I am going to claim still being under the influence of weird alien poison, cause I can't actually be thinking straight as I raise a hand to brush his bangs back. And if I wasn't thinking before, my brain fucking short-circuits when some of his hair sort of twitches in anticipation of the touch. 

"No fucking way." My voice is quiet, breathy. And I don't even care. 

"LANCE, DON'T..." 

My fingers card through the black mess that is his hair, and I can feel the giant grin spread across my face as I feel exactly what I thought I would find. I come pretty close to giggling when my fingertips brush against the edges of what are unmistakably fluffy ears.   

"You know, you can't really tell. Unless you're looking for them!" I say offhandedly, like I'm not caressing his ears in a surprisingly intimate way. Like bros, obviously. 

His fucking ears twitch in response, canting backwards away from my touch like a pissed off cat.  If I hadn't had my hands threaded in his hair, I probably wouldn't have even noticed the movement. The thick shaggy hair does a pretty good job disguising them. Helps that the tips are pitch black.  

Struck by a thought, I pull Keith towards me.  

"What? No!" He resists as much as he can without leverage.  

"C'mon. No Homo, I promise!" 

Keith glares at me for a minute before rolling his eyes and sighing. His legs bump the medical bed, so I scoot backwards so that there is room for him to sit at the end. I feel a little bad, wincing at the brief flash of pain that spasms across his features as he settles reluctantly across from me. He stills, eyeing me warily with those spooky purple eyes of his. Those at least look the same as before, even if they might be glowing a little in the dim room.  

I grab his head none to gently, pulling him towards me abruptly. He goes a little bug eyed, but complies. 

I tilt his head forward a little, letting my fingers tangle in his hair.  FOR A REASON. Obviously. My fingers find the edge of one of those ears, and I push back the surrounding hair. The ear in question is dark black at the tip but towards the scalp they fade into a deep purple, perfectly matching his vitiligo. I let my hands drop from his head as I noticed those ears twitching nervously. 

Keith's eyes are glaring right through me at this point. Alright. Maybe I lied. This is probably some homo.  

I'm starting to think I've got this weird 'flirting with death' kink, cause as he's trying to murder me with a stare, I'm experiencing stomach flopping sensations that have absolutely nil to do with nausea. 

Maybe even mostly homo. 

I clear my throat before smiling at him. "You're right my dude." 

The murder glare lessens a little. It's probably only an 'assault' glare at this point. "I'm... what?" 

I'm watching for it, so a little thrill runs through me when I see those ears twitch curiously. My grin widens. "You're waaaay more cat than dog." 

Those eyes narrow a little and we are suddenly back up to an 'assault with a deadly weapon' glare. One of his hands grips the steel railing that runs on one side of the bed. I look down in shock as his grip leaves visible indentations in the metal surface.  

The fluttery sensation in my stomach intensifies. 

Fuck. Me. 

I've definitely got a death wish.  

I'm saved from my thoughts as the lights brighten quickly, and Shiro quietly walks over. Keith spins to stare at him, ears flattening again. They relax slightly as Shiro claps him on the uninjured shoulder. He holds up some kind of torture device. 

"Keith, Pidge and Hunk worked on this brace for you, so at least your knee won't get worse while we get things set up." 

It's a brace? It looks like hell. "Why can't we just let the healing pod fix it?" I ask, arms gingerly crossed over my stomach, avoiding my bandage. "Did he get poisoned too?" 

Shiro winces at me, and I'm immediately aware whatever the answer is, I'm not going to like it. He glances affectionately at Keith before responding. "He's a little too tall for that right now. Hunk is working on modifying one of them to account for the recent... changes. They should be ready in a few days, but for now, he doesn't... fit." 

I'm sorry. What. 

"Does the pod have a weight limit I was previously unaware of?" I grit out, glaring at the both of them. Keith narrows his gaze at me. Coran heads off our fight by bounding over excitedly. I'm not even sure when he got here.  

"Excellent news, my lad! Pidge and my tests came back, you should experience no harmful side effects from getting in the healing pod!" Now that is some good fucking news. Coran helps me off the bed, and with Shiro's help Keith stands up beside me. Suddenly the floor is falling out from underneath me.  

Not actually. That would suck. No. Unfortunately, I'm still very much here, next to Keith. The Keith that is staring at me with bright purple eyes and a fucking smile on his face. The Keith with those secret cat ears twitching beneath his hair.  The Keith with gorgeous purple galaxies speckled across his skin. 

The Keith that is now apparently several fucking inches taller than me.  

Isn't this just fucking fantastic. 


	8. Racist Jello - Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith deals with the changes he's undergone recently as team Voltron tries to get back to business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is your warning. Next chapter comes with secondhand embarrassment and gratuitous use of cat puns.

I have a bad feeling about this.  

To be fair, this trepidation isn't exactly a new for me. I’m not good at this whole diplomacy business. Shiro, Allura, and Lance excel in public relations. It's not something I can rely on instinct for, so I generally hang back for these types of thing. Apparently, even aliens get ticked when you just say whatever's on your mind. 

If it wasn't for this particularly demanding set of politicians on this particularly annoying planet, I wouldn't even be here. I am more than happy to wait in Black or hole up in the Castleship.  

Shiro and Allura are more than capable of handling these enlightened buckets of mucilage. 

Except.  

Except they are refusing to trust paladins they haven't met.  Personally, I think they are just making us jump through hoops for them as a power play, one of many. We've already had to take part in a parade, form Voltron upon request, and Allura had been pushed into giving the leader of this race a full tour of our ship.  

Allura said this race is supposed to be one of the most well connected in this galaxy. The planet itself serves as a mega-port for this corner of space. She wants them in our alliance. 

Naturally, they are becoming the most annoying beings I've ever had to deal with, and I haven't even had to come face to face with them yet.  

So now we're sitting here, about half a mile from their settlement, the rest of us waiting in our lions. I stretch back into the pilot's seat in Black's cockpit. My joints are still sore, a side effect of my bones growing so quickly, I guess. I'm getting really tired of the constant changes I've been dealing with ever since Acxa and Exor escaped. Just yesterday I noticed some of my vitiligo has expanded, covering more of my skin. At least I had finally gotten some time in the healing pod. My jacked-up knee only twinges after I've been still for a while.  

Like now. 

I swing the joint back and forth a few times, trying to work the soreness out. A bleep from Black's dash gets my attention only a couple minutes later. Guess I'll have to deal with the dull pain for now.  

I sit back in the chair, pressing a few buttons to answer the com.  

"Keith! Please round up the other paladins and meet Shiro and I at the town square." 

"Couldn't you have just broadcasted to all of us?" 

Allura rolls her eyes. "Unified front, Keith. You're the leader." 

Riiiiight. I shrug to myself as the call ends. I open a feed between myself and the other paladins. "Hey guys, you ready to go? Allura says they are ready for us." 

A familiar cockpit pops up on the screen. Lance grins at me. "Sounds purr-fect, Keithy boy." 

"Lance, what did we talk about?" Hunk's face pops up on my dash as he responds to Lance with a frown, before grinning at me. "I'm good to roll too, Keith!" 

Lance crosses his arms frowning at the yellow paladin. "I dunno what you're talking about." 

"Yeah, good here too." Pidge pops up, eyes rolling. "Lance, I'm pretty sure we told you to stop trying to pick Keith up with cat puns." 

I refuse to turn red. I'm the black paladin now. 

Lance however seems under no obligation to follow my lead. His face is completely crimson. "Okay!" He holds up a finger, angrily brandishing it towards the screen. "I'm not trying to pick Keith up." A second finger flips up, joining the first. "Cat puns are fucking hilarious." 

"On that note, let's go meet Allura before she finds us and drags us there herself." I stand, grunting a little as I put weight on my knee.  

"Dude, you still having problems with your leg? You've got to be kitten me! It's been days!" I ignore Lance's comment. Mostly. I do happen to shoot a glare towards his screen before shutting down the comm.  

As I exit the Black Lion, I see the others are quickly following my lead. Pidge runs up to me, a concerned look on her face. "You sure you're good, buddy?" 

My turn to roll my eyes. "Honestly, it's like you guys think knees aren't supposed to be inverted." 

Hunk laughs as he walks towards us. "See? Galra Keith man." 

I'll let him have this one. I just shake my head. We're not too far from where we are supposed to be meeting Shiro and Allura, so the walk shouldn't be too bad. Better with exercise, right? 

I manage a normal-ish gait as we make our way down the winding path taking us towards civilization. We draw several stares as we approach, but I expected that much. We're all fully kitted out in our Paladin armor, helmets with full visors and everything.  We are pretty badass sometimes.  

Allura and Shiro are smiling at us as we join them, but the smiles look a little strained. Dealing with these guys must be more taxing than I realized. 

"AH!" A large kind of wiggly alien jiggles over towards us. "The paladins of Voltron in the flesh!" The alien undulates aggressively, arm like protrusions flailing wide. It stops directly in front of us, waiting for something impatiently. I'm not sure exactly how they are managing to look impatient, they don't even have a proper face, but still. The alien is radiating annoyance.  

I glance towards my fellow paladins, unsure. They look just as confused as I am, so I shoot a look towards Allura and Shiro, receiving two helpless shrugs in return. 

"Well, Paladins?" The alien jiggles again. "You would disrespect us so, not taking off your helms?" 

I gulp a little, hoping the noise is inaudible. I didn't really want to take my helmet off. I've been very aware of the looks the members of the Blade of Marmora get when they join us for these meetings, and I'm not just an ally to Voltron. Right now, I'm the acting leader.  

The others seem unaware of my current dilemma, pulling their helmets off quickly. 

Reluctantly, I raise my hands and pull off the helmet, keeping my eyes on the jello-alien wobbling in front of me.  I can't exactly make eye contact with them, since I can't see anything resembling eyes on their body, but I pretend anyway. 

Immediately, I feel gelatinous hands on my shoulders, forcing me roughly to my knees. I can't stop the grunt of pain that escapes as my weight slams my knees into the ground. I look up to see guards have swarmed around us, blocking the others from getting to me.  

I can't say I'm surprised. It would have been naïve to expect anything different. 

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Allura is shouting, pushing her way through the guards. I keep my eyes on the alien in front of me, gauging the situation. I can see Lance struggling to break through the group of guards holding Hunk, Pidge and himself back. 

The alien in front of me squats, grabbing my chin. "It seems you were infiltrated by Galran scum, your highness."  

"I demand you unhand my paladin!" Allura is swarmed by a fresh group of guards, halting her progress towards us.  

How is it, even when I keep my mouth closed, I still manage to cause a problem? 

"Galra Keith is a good Galra! Sure, he's a little impulsive, but he makes a great leader." Hunk protests from somewhere behind the wall of sentient jello. A muttered oof a few seconds later signal that someone elbowed him in the gut. 

"You are telling me that Voltron is LED by one of these... monsters?" The aliens all wiggle in indignant unison. 

I wince a little.  

"We will happily join your alliance." The alien flails. "With only one condition." Unsurprisingly, this condition has one of the jello guards pulling me straight up by my hair. It feels like that one time Lance attacked me with his hair gel in an attempt to 'tame my mullet.' A gelatinous tentacle slips arounds my neck, and the expected tightening is making it especially hard to breathe. It's kinda pissing me off at this point. I want to pull the pressure away from my neck, but with a tug I realize my arms were bound behind my back at some point.  

This.  

Is. 

Bullshit. 

"I suggest backing down, your highness. Surely our resources are worth more than the life of this mangy cur." 

I catch Allura's gaze, and nod at her. She stares back at me in horror, vigorously shaking her head. 

"Keith, you can't be serious!?" 

"Keith, what the fuck man??!"  

"DUDE, NO." 

"Yeah, no dude. We aren't gonna..." 

Only Shiro catches on to my look, at for the first time since we rescued him, he almost seems like himself as he almost imperceptibly smiles at me.  "No, I think Keith is right. What is one life, compared to what Voltron can do with these resources?"  

Allura spins towards Shiro, jaw slack. There is a cacophony from my other side as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk immediately start yelling.  

The aliens seem surprised by the turn of events. They clearly like feeling as though they have the upper hand, that's all they've done the entire time Allura has been trying to negotiate with them. They wanted begging. Suddenly getting exactly what they asked for seems to have thrown them off guard. 

The tentacle wrapped around my neck slackens just enough for me to get a decent breath.  

It's exactly what I needed. I tuck my legs towards my body, allowing my weight to lift off my knees, and for a second I'm uncomfortably choking in the alien's grip. And then my feet are finally under me, and I can stand. I jerk up to my full height, dragging my neck away from the alien's grasp, before immediately dropping back down into a crouch and slinging a leg around, causing the guards and the lead alien to crumble into sloppy jello piles at my feet.  

I stand slowly again, eyes not leaving the mass of goopy alien in front of me, with a deliberate flexing of my shoulders and arms the cuffs binding my wrists break.  The blubbering pile of mush hesitantly reforms, and I get the feeling it is eyeing me warily. 

"Voltron is under no obligation to offer its protection towards a group so obviously unwilling to cooperate. We will begin preparations to leave your planet immediately."  

I feel a body closing in on me from behind, and react without thinking. Not bothering to turn around, hands clenched by my side, I grab them quickly, suspending them in the air by two of the wiggling arm-things that had only seconds before been brandishing weapons at me. This whole being seven feet tall thing has some perks besides annoying Lance, I'm starting to notice. 

A collective gasp sounds around me. Seriously, the way these people react to my reflexes is almost insulting; they know how much I train. 

I glance around, catching the stares blatantly looking behind me. Shooting a cautionary glare towards the alien leader quivering on the ground in front of me, I turn to look behind me.  

I've still got the other alien suspended, and crossing my arms, I turn to look quizzically towards my teammates. 

Wait. 

I look down at my arms, a cold dread filling me. 

I release the alien, staring in horror as my tail unwinds from its arms.  

A Tail. I have a fucking tail. 

I don't even have to look at Lance to know that there's a shit eating grin spreading across his face. 

I'm not exactly thinking clearly as I whirl around, barely seeing my allies before I'm bolting for the castle, pain in my knee completely forgotten. 

Allura can handle the rest of this train wreck. 


	9. Relative Error - Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finally gets some stuff off his chest. If he wasn't such an unreliable narrator, we might learn more about the plot.   
> Bless him.  
> Quality Star Wars references are completely wasted on Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on 3 cups of coffee, since the future in-laws are showing up tomorrow. Er. Today.   
> I probably should be productive, but I'll write instead.   
> Appreciate the crap show that is my chapter summary this week. 
> 
> (Whoops my hand slipped and I doubled my normal word count? Heh.)  
> Ga, I had so much fun writing this one.   
> I'll come back after sleep and do the necessary editing, but I was too excited to wait.  
> Sleep Dep makes Rou impatient about posting.

Keith is an absolute dumbass. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. 

Speaking of my heart, it currently seems to be trying to claw its way out of my chest. I can practically feel my rib cage fracturing with every heavy beat. We nearly get killed by angry purple chinchilla aliens every day, how is it fair that my body is turning against me too? It's making me almost as mad as Keith does.

AND SPEAKING OF.

_Who the fuck does he think he is?!_

It hadn't exactly been surprising that the slimy scum aliens turned out to be... well. Scummy. But it had thrown me for a god damn loop that our fucking leader, acting head of Voltron – had been so willing to throw himself at the mercy of sentient jello fuckfaces. 

I told Hunk and Pidge as much, and they just laughed at me.

"I mean, it worked though, didn't it?" Hunk chuckles at the glare I shoot him. "Didn't exactly have time for him to form and discuss a foolproof plan, did we?"

"Okay, but they could have just killed him on the spot?" I thread my fingers angrily through my hair. We're slowly making our way back to our lions. Allura and Shiro had firmly denied the feebly masked extortion after those blob aliens attempted to kill Keith. 

And maybe a few well-placed threats from yours truly landed us with a few extra supplies than we initially landed with... Hey, we might as well get something out of this useless mission. Allura seems upset, but we've managed to convince her that no resources are worth allies you can't trust.

"Yeah, sure... but Shiro clearly could tell Keith was bluffing. The whole reason it worked is cause he just went along with it." 

I love Hunk. 

I don't like Hunk right now. 

Okay, I still like him. 

He's Hunk for fucks sake, and I am a weak, weak dude.

"Anyway Lance, judging Keith's reaction time with that last guy trying to jump him, he could have handled it regardless." Pidge shrugs at me, pushing her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to have to get him back in the lab for more tests, his galraness is manifesting at an astonishing rate." She looks towards me, light reflecting off her lenses. 

I pull at my hair, exasperatedly. "Why do you even wear those?" I gesture towards her face with a poked-out elbow. "You only used them to fool the garrison guards, right?" 

Pidge stops in her tracks, glasses glinting at me. "I have an image to maintain." She smiles evilly, and it honestly gives me chills. "Besides, isn't that completely beside the point?"

"What point? There is no point."

Hunk snorts a little. "Sure, so long as you aren't looking at Keith." He raises a hand calmly to the side and Pidge hits it enthusiastically. I am surrounded by traitors. 

"Hah. You are so funny." I deadpan, walking forwards trying to ignore the two of them.

Pidge lets out a squawk, and I'm two seconds away from calling her a pigeon, but then I remember the Black Lion still isn't accepting Shiro, so they kinda need me alive at the moment. Pidge is wheezing a little, and she gestures towards Hunk to speak for her. Apparently, they are telepathic in their treachery now. How fucking fantastic.

Hunk nods sagely for a second before steepling his hands in front of his mouth. "I haven't seen you that angry at jello since your fifth birthday party, when your mom was on that health kick and wouldn't make you a cake, and stuck your candles in that weird fruit-jello bundt cake."

"First off, that was betrayal of the highest degree. Birthday cake is sacred." Hunk doesn't even try to refute this fact. "Secondly, they were threatening the head of Voltron, he's basically our leader right now. I was just showing solidarity." I cross my arms angrily in front of my chest and set off again, walking a little faster.

Hunk and Pidge are unfazed by my speed, matching me easily. "We were just as surprised as you were, you know." Hunk states gently. 

"Oh, absolutely." Pidge nods firmly, before shooting me another villain quality grin. "But you know, after he took care of the situation, we STOPPED trying to flail past those aliens holding us back."

Hunk agrees, and I'm really starting to second guess this whole 'liking him just cause he's Hunk, thing.' He plasters a huge shit eating grin on his face. "Yeah, man... and if that wasn't enough the whole moan grunting thing you did as he left was a dead giveaway."

Pidge skips up beside me and is completely silent for a moment. I look at her warily, confused as to exactly what she's up to before her face suddenly contorts.

 "UUUUUNNNNGHFM." 

Okay, yep. That's it.

"I don't have to put up with these lies." I take off in a flat out run, finally putting some distance between myself and the two schemers smiling annoyingly at my back.

They won't be staring for long. I'm a fucking fantastic runner. I've always had super long legs for my body, and any sport that let me capitalize on that was my JAM. No one can keep up with me when I run. Cept for Keith, but he's a try hard and that's cheating.

I make it to my lion a few minutes later, huffing to a halt. I notice that my 'friends' still haven't even made it over the crest of the hill, and I'm not feeling very charitable. Normally, I'd wait so we could all fly back to the castle together. Not the case now. Besides, the only people that would need rides brought a pod, so I really have nothing requiring me to wait.

 Coran has the castle outside of the planet's pull, a failsafe we'd established after being tricked by fake distress calls one too many times. It was Keith's idea. I have to admit, it was a pretty solid one. I refuse to give him credit for anything well thought out currently. I'm not petty. He probably would sense the praise and his head would explode with ego. And even when his head explodes it probably would be brilliant and flashy cause he's never not showing off.

I'm actually pretty stoked to be piloting Red right now, she's the fastest lion we've got. It takes me next to no time to get back to the castle. And I'm totally not thinking about Keith the entire flight. Red rumbles a little, and I'm going to pretend it's turbulence and not her laughing at me. I don't think I can handle someone else laughing at me right now. She quiets down, which only solidifies the thought that she was chuckling at me in the first place. 

Honestly, she can go back to laughing, since now she's just decided to blow up my brain with images of Keith. As soon as her feet hit the metal floor of her hanger, I'm speeding out of her like I'm on fire. I pull my helmet off after I exit Red. She makes that rumbly noise in my head again, and this time I'm 100% certain she's laughing at me now. Just fucking great. 

WHO ELSE WANTS TO LAUGH AT ME TODAY?

Right now, the only thing I want to do is find Keith and give him a piece of my mind. Probably my fist too. It's his fault everyone is picking on me. If he hadn't been such a dipshit, I wouldn't have been desperately trying to protect to him. You know, doing my job?!

I feel a sharp pain in my palm and realize I'm clenching my fists hard enough to make my joints pop. 

I should probably try to relax, shake it off. Talk to Keith when I'm not livid.

I'm not gonna.

When I reach the main hangar hub, I place my hand on a control panel on the wall. I'm kinda glad Pidge rigged these panel things to access generic data. Right now, it is supremely useful for tracking down the person I want to strangle. I pull up the heat map. Looks like Coran is on the main deck, I can see my dot in the hanger wing, and with only a little searching, I pick out Keith's blip pacing back and forth in the rec room. 

I take off down the halls. It doesn't take me long to make it to the rec room. Sure enough, Keith is pacing nonstop, back and forth in front of the U-shaped couch. He's in his flight suit, the armor pieces have been shed. I uh. Hm. 

I can't say I blame him, this stuff isn't exactly comfortable. 

But.

Hrrrmg.

Okay. I'm gonna need my body to get it the fuck together. I came here to fight. 

Keith... must really be deep in thought. He didn't even notice when I came in, and that pisses me off just enough to distract me from uh. Everything else I may or may not be distracted with. I walk up towards him, careful not to grab his attention. Sometimes you just need a grand entrance.

As soon as I am close enough behind him, I shove his shoulder, causing him to stumble. 

"What the fuck were you thinking, asshat?"

 He rolls up onto the balls of his feet, and that tail flicks a little to keep him balanced. He whorls towards me. Sorta. It's pretty obvious that normal human Keith brain isn't in control at this point.  His eyes are still normal, apart from the weird light coming from them. Keith spins towards me as I scramble backwards to get out of his space. Maybe attacking him from behind was the wrong thing to do. 

And we call Keith impulsive. 

I can't think about it for too long, cause within a moment from recovering from the shove he is pouncing at me. And I really misjudged his distance. I yelp, falling on my ass, and roll sideways to avoid getting landed on by Keith. He lands and collects himself, spinning towards me again in one fluid movement. 

"KEITH IT'S ME, LANCE."

He stares at me for a minute before standing up with a huff. "I know." His eyes are no longer headlights, but I still see his eyes roll, annoyed.

No, no he doesn't have a right to be pissed with me. "Listen fucker." He raises an eyebrow but sinks onto the couch across from me. I didn't expect him to actually cooperate, so I stutter a bit before picking back up. "What gives you the right to sacrifice yourself?"

His other eyebrow shoots up to join the one hanging out near his hairline. "I didn't."

"Uh, no. I distinctly remember you offering your death in exchange for supplies?" I stand up, trying to preserve some of my dignity.

"So, you also remember that immediately after I used the shock to break free?" He huffed, crossing his arms. His tail flicks at me sarcastically. How can a tail flick sarcastically? This is some bullshit.

"What if they had just killed you!? Keith, you can't take risks like that!!"

"I don't think they would have been able to kill me, I'm fairly skilled at combat."

"You are missing the point, fuckface."

"What exactly IS your point?" He stands, tail now swishing angrily.

"You never think anything through?! THAT'S MY FUCKING POINT."

"I thought this through." 

I bark out a laugh, and honestly, I wish I could say I'm lying when I say he gets furious when he hears that noise. "That would be a first, catboy."

Keith hunches his shoulders towards me, fists clenched by his sides. "What is that supposed to mean."

Let me be the first to say I am really fucking mad Keith, and as I see it. I've got two options. 

 Option One: Fight Keith.

  * PROS: Get one or two punches in. 
  * CONS: Get my ass kicked. 



Option Two: Provoke Keith into fighting me.

  * PROS: Get several punches in. Annoy the hell out of Keith 
  * CONS: Still get my ass kicked.  



Number two is sounding like the best option.

"You're kitten, right?" I grin humorlessly at him when he grits his teeth at me. "Our first mission with you as the leader, you flew us straight into a trap. It was a cat-astrophe." 

"If you don't stop making cat puns at me, I am going to murder you."

"You're going to MEOWDER ME??"

Okay Keith might be hissing at me, but I've seen those nature documentaries, you aren't supposed to show weakness.  To be fair, those nature documentaries mention NOTHING about hot angry half alien guys. 

...

_I'm so fucking weak,_ _dude._

I'm forced out of my Pretty Gay thoughts by Keith stalking towards me. I stand my ground and continue my list, or I would, if it wasn't for a slight interruption. Keith and I both swivel towards the door when we hear a smooth  _'_ _schhtk_ _._ _'_ We turn to see Hunk lean up against the jamb, preventing it from closing. He waves as us, absentmindedly crunching on a meal bar.

I force my attention back onto Keith. "Need more examples? You push yourself too hard in the training deck, you put yourself in harm's way all the fucking time, it's a-paw-ling." I definitely don't gulp as he slowly closes the distance between us. "Not to mention you're a fucking hy-purr-crite." 

This makes Keith stop. "How the fuck am I a hypocrite."

I reel backwards dramatically, pretending to be shocked. "Are you fucking FUR real?" When he just blinks at me dumbly, I shake my head, incredulous. "Dude. You get onto me all the damn time about not staying focused and not flirting with everything in my way, and then the first girl that catches your eye you got so caught up with you forgot she was the fucking enemy."

Keith pulls away from me, confusion written all over his stupid face. "But you DO flirt with literally anything that walks."

"He flirted with mermaids too." Hunk supplies helpfully from the door. 

Keith gestures towards Hunk, nodding. "So, what the hell Lance, what's your problem?" His jaw is hanging open, like the hinge is broken. "I talked to Acxa, big deal. Didn't stop me from kicking her ass when I found out something happened to your dumbass." He shoves me back, and I stumble for a few steps before regaining my footing. Keith's always been strong, but this galra shit has him on a new level.  My eyes narrow as I size him up. He may be bigger than me now, but I'm gonna take his ass down this time. Ever since the ' **Acxadent'** (self -five) this shit has been bugging me. We never really got a chance to air it all out. Here we fucking go.

"You did more than talk to her, Luke." I snarl back at Keith. 

"Whoa, Lance. Low blow!" Hunk pipes up again from the door, around a mouthful of meal-bar. "Nice one though, good reference - 10/10."

Keith looks more confused than ever. Right. I forget he lived in the desert for ages. Dude doesn't keep up with pop culture, probably never even watched Star Wars.

"You let me know when you are done talking in riddles, Lance." He turns, heading out of the room, and that probably should have been the end of it. 

Except.

Except Keith swatted my nose with his new tail. 

Logically, I know he probably didn't mean to do it. Everything he's used that tail for so far has just been instinct or involuntary, like breathing.

I don’t give a shit about logic.  

I also don't seem to give a shit about living, because my gut reaction was to grab his tail and pull. 

Keith's gut reaction has him spinning around, hissing in pain and then the fucker head butts me. 

"SWISS FUCKING CHEESE." I grunt in pain and anger briefly but quickly drop my shoulder, running at him. The counterattack throws him off his game and he falls down. And since all my energy was concentrated on knocking him on his giant space-cat ass, I slam down on top of him, rolling painfully. I scramble up quickly, throwing an elbow as he rushes me again. He winces and ducks as I swing a fist towards his face. I can hear voices around me, but I pay them absolutely no attention. 

"Are you done yet?" He asks, sounding exasperated, which only serves to piss me off more. 

"NO." I launch myself towards him again, and somehow manage to knock him completely off his feet. "You're the one that got your shit swizzled sideways by fucking one of Lotor's top generals, and now we're living in a goddamn soap opera." 

Keith stops moving suddenly, and my fist collides with his nose. Hard. 

"How did I get my 'shit swizzled sideways' when you were the one that got fucking stabbed?" The fucker doesn't even bother clutching his now free-bleeding nose.

"Sure, Keith. I got stabbed. BUT I'M NOT THE ONE THAT FUCKED HIS SISTER." 

Keith stares up at me, eyes wide with what I can only assume is horror. Oh god, maybe he hadn't connected the dots yet. Maybe he was in denial. I mean, sure he's being a righteous asshat right now, but he's still my friend. I move my weight off the arm I have pinned against his neck. He's not saying anything, just staring at me blankly, and suddenly I feel like the shittiest person in the world. He didn't exactly know at the time, did he? I sit up fully, still awkwardly straddling him. 

"Look, buddy. I'm sorry. That was harsh." I bit my lip. "I mean, it's true. But it was harsh." 

Keith's eyes are closed now, one hand threading through his hair, exposing the edge of one of those fluffy ears of his. 

"Keith, buddy?" His nose is slowly dribbling blood down his face, and I can feel his body shake underneath me.

"Keith! I think we can just write it off you know? You didn't KNOW she was your sister."

The shaking redoubles, and I feel helpless.  I want to make him feel better, but...

A choking sound erupts from his mouth followed by the deepest gutteral laugh I've ever heard come out of the former red paladin. He's shaking with... laughter.

"What the fuck?!?" I stare down at him in horror. "Okay, I said we can write it off, but it's not fucking funny dude. It's kinda sick."

He's laughing so hard that sitting on his stomach feels like sitting on a jackhammer. 

"Oh. My. God." He's wheezing. I'm completely fucking lost. "You..." He breathes in deeply before continuing, barely able to get the words out. "You think... I had SEX? With ACXA?" 

Keith is... crying. He's literally crying because he's laughing so hard. Maybe he's just being self-deprecating. "Haha, yeah now that you say it. It does sound stupid to think you've got that kind of game." 

The chuckling redoubles, but he manages to open his eyes. When he speaks, his voice is all rough and deep and completely unattractive. "Oh, I've got plenty of game, dude. I just don't play for that team."

Okay, what? "Because she worked for Lotor?" My confusion must be completely evident on my face, because it sets Keith off again, laughing madly underneath me. The laughing is all around me. Swinging my gaze upwards, I see everyone, I mean EVERYONE standing at the door, watching us in tears. Pidge is doubled over, laughing so hard no sound is coming out. Allura and Coran are chuckling behind their hands, shoulders shaking, despite their efforts to hide it. Shiro looks like he's going to bite through his lip, muffled chuckling escaping occasionally. Hunk is just standing there, laughing his stupid full bellied laugh.

"Anyone want to tell me what the fucking joke is?"

A sudden rocking underneath me reminds me that I'm sitting directly on top of Keith in front of the entire team, but if I scramble off him now it will only cause everyone to laugh at me more, and I'd really like to figure out what the fuck they are laughing at NOW. I stay put, crossing my arms defensively over my chest, staring down at the guy pinned underneath me. Keith is propped up on his elbows now, a bemused expression spread across his purple speckled features. 

"Ah, Lance. I thought you knew. I am One Hundred Percent certified, Gay as Hell." He shoots me a smirk, quirking an eyebrow at me. 

This motherfucker.

I've always been smooth as fuck. I'm a gift to the English language.

 You wouldn't know it now. I'm sort of mouthing wordlessly. I continue to do this for long enough for the people around me to recover from my giant social fuck up.

Coran is the first to speak.

"So, Keith. I actually was coming to find you specifically." 

I can feel the rumble of Keith responding underneath me, but I can't really concentrate on what he's saying. Coran is talking again, and I only barely manage to catch part of what he says. 

"I do believe it has something to do with that dagger of yours.  Your changes really started to hit about the same time you lost it. It's not much of a theory, but I think it's something to work with." 

"...Our theory about galran genes and stress triggered traits?" Looks like Pidge finally stopped gasping for air on the floor. 

"No, No. I think that's part of it, actually you see..." 

Coran, Pidge, and Hunk must have turned towards each other their voices slightly muffled.  I don't bother looking up, my eyes are locked on Keith, unable to pull them away. His mouth is moving, and I can feel rumbling through his chest again. Shit. I'm still sitting on him. I scramble off quickly, sending him a sheepish look as we both stand. I feel like a complete grade A asshole.

"Thanks, Lance." He shoots a look towards the door, and I follow his gaze. Allura and Shiro must have left at some point, only the other three remain and are batting theories around animatedly. I'm sure they are fascinating. 

Keith waves a hand in front of my face, and I shake my head a little focusing back on him, wide eyed. He smirks at me again, causing me to frown. He's smirking far too much. He had to have hit the limit at this point. "I'm going to use the healing pod. You managed to break my nose, that was a pretty solid punch." He shoves my shoulder as he passes, and shoots me an honest to god smile. 

Maybe we can move past this and forget about this whole embarrassing ordeal.

As soon as Keith leaves, Pidge and Hunk swing towards me, grins plastered on their faces.

Oh fucking hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear from you guys about what you would like to see?  
> I've got an overall plot set up, but who do you want to hear from?   
> Any specific tropes you want me to play off of?
> 
> Acxa's already called dibs on the next chapter.  
> I'm super excited to show you guys that one. 
> 
> As always, thank you to all my readers.   
> I can't believe the response I've had to this, and I'm really happy I decided to human-up and post this fic.


	10. Changes - Acxa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why are there no explosions? Talking about explosions just doesn't do it for me. I demand a chapter of my own. With explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. And maybe face smashing. Mostly explosions." - Zethrid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm back. Eventful year, I'm glad to finally back to this project. I hope you enjoy. My storyline will have some minor changes to my original plot line to account for some elements of recent seasons, but I'm pretty committed to my original idea.

"I promise, I'm fine." 

Ezor looks me up and down, disbelief written across her face. She pushes off the wall she's leaning against to walk towards me, hands clasping behind her back. Her eyes scan me knowingly. I thrust my chin out towards her, feeling more than a little petulant. Her gaze narrows and she draws one of her hands from behind her, slow and deliberate in her movements. Her fingers caress the edge of my face before tracing a line slowly from my forehead down the bridge of my nose. She peers at me curiously, crouching in front of me, face coming closer to mine with every breath. I bite my lip without thinking, lowering my gaze to her lips before flickering back up to meet hers. She's only inches away now, and I feel myself leaning towards her automatically, eyes fluttering closed. Her finger continues its journey, stopping on the tip of my nose before smushing it into my face. 

"BOOP." 

My eyes fly open and I'm faced with her shit eating grin. "You ass." I groan, flopping backwards onto my bed, unconcerned with appearances for the moment. If anyone has seen me like this before it's definitely Ezor. She's seen it all.  

Ezor smirks at me, flopping down beside me. She's a better flopper than me. She makes the action seem effortless and lighthearted. Her arm snakes across my middle as she props her head up on her other arm so she can stare at her absolute mess of a partner. 

"You say you're fine, but you've changed you know." Ezor studies me for a minute before scooting closer, tilting my chin towards her so I'm forced to meet her gaze once again. "You seem... preoccupied." 

I bite my lip, furrowing my brow. Preoccupied. If she only knew the half of it. I force myself to stop worrying my lip, breathing forcibly as I sit back up. "Don't concern yourself, I'm just curious as to where Lotor's obsession will lead us." I twist slightly, looking back to watch her process my words. 

"Curious I get. Concern I get. But you're like, the most level-headed person I know. And you've never held out on me before. It just feels like there's more bubbling under the surface than you're letting me in on." She rolls on her back, propping herself up on both elbows, one eyebrow quirks up as she stares at me. "You of all people know I'm not stupid, so why are you lying to me now?" 

"What makes you think I'm lying?" 

Ezor scoffs at me, fully sitting up. "Are you joking? You're one of the most straight forward people I know. You've been completely out of it. You might be fooling other people, but you can't fool me. Yesterday you didn't say a word when Lotor was going on about his plans, and you've always been vocal when it comes to strategy." 

"He's been on edge recently, he doesn’t need me sitting there casting doubt on his command." I shrug, glancing at Ezor. 

"Sure. That doesn't explain why, when I asked yesterday if you wanted to join me in suit less space diving, you said 'That could be fun,' and didn’t even attempt to talk me out of it." Ezor pushes against my shoulder with hers, sending a twinge through the old injury hiding there. I must have winced, because immediately she is sitting up, grabbing my shoulders with both her hands, eyes wide as she stares at me. "You didn't heal from that fight a few movements ago."  

I jerk my head away, huffing. "It would be ridiculous to suggest I hadn't healed by now, Ez." 

Ezor glares at me. She rarely glares at anyone like this, much less me, and it makes me twinge just as much as the spasm from my shoulder does. "Okay, Prove it then." She pulls her long legs underneath her, crossing them before resting her head in her hands, smiling at me in a sickly-sweet fashion. 

"I've got nothing to prove, since what you are requesting is absolutely insane." 

Ezor smiles at me with that simpering saccharine smile, not quite reaching her eyes. "Show me your arm then, love." She sits up, fake smile still plastered on her features. "If it is so ridiculous, it shouldn't be a problem to shut me up." She leans towards me, crowding my space. She's just doing this to piss me off, she knows I hate it. 

I glare at her, pushing back. "Ez, no. I'm not playing this game with you. Trust me or don't."  

Her face contorts briefly before she huffs at me. "I'm just worried about you, dummy." It's her turn to worry her own lip between her teeth, looking down at her hands in her lap. "Ever since we got you back from the robo kitty squad you've been distant from everyone." She briefly glances back at me before she resumes staring at her hands. "You've been distant from me." I sigh, readying myself to assuage her fears, but it seems she isn't done. Her shoulders slump a little as she continues. "You actively avoid being sent on missions with me, with any of us. I heard you ask Lotor for more 'solo projects'. What the fuck is up with that?"  

Ezor brings her knee up to her chest, resting her chin on it as she stares blankly at the wall across from my bed. "You won't spend any time with me outside of missions either, so don't try giving me some bullshit strategy quip. It's gotten worse recently too, we rescued almost a full phoeb ago and you've been steadily pulling away from our team ever since." 

I'm saved from my sudden and overwhelming guilt by a crash at my door. Zethrid looks at the pair of us, excitement clear on her face.  

"C'mon guys, stop doing whatever gross stuff you're doing, Lotor needs us to blow stuff up." She grins widely before spinning to sprint away from my room without so much as an explanation, door closing slowly behind her. I don't know what I was expecting. We all have our passions. 

Ezor stands first, fist clenched at her side briefly before she relaxes. "Okay, we're going to move past this. I don't want you to think I'm not here for you, or whatever silly broody thing you might be thinking. I don't want you to push me away either, so how about you just remember that I'm here for you, and I'll stab anyone for your love. You can talk to me." She turns to where I'm still sitting, eyeing her with what I hope looks like fond exasperation, and she smiles down at me. 

"You enjoy stabbing people, so I'm not sure how much that says about our relationship, Ez." I let a small smile cross my face. I'm trying here.  

"Yeah but I extra love it when I get to stab people for you. It's the peak of romance, love." She winks at me, smirking, before turning and quickly leaving the room, leaving me with my thoughts. 

I stand wearily, stretching my shoulder to remove some of the ache. My hand drifts over the still raw wound I know sits below the bandages I've fashioned under my flight suit. I wasn't lying to Ez. It would be ridiculous to think I hadn't healed since my fight with my brother. It happened to be completely true, but it was still ridiculous. A lot of things in my life were ridiculous. Finding out the sibling I'd only heard rumors about growing up, was not only was the man that had rescued me from that Weblum, but a paladin on the exact opposite side of the war, had thrown my whole life into a vortex of ridiculous.  

I reach into one of the shelves above my bed, grunting slightly with the effort. I have to fumble around blindly, no longer able to quite see over the edge. It only takes a second for my hand to hit the hilt of the strange purple dagger Keith had thrown at me before we got away. I've taken to keeping it with me. I tried leaving it behind when I went off on a mission right after we returned from the castleship, but the whole mission I was distracted, completely unable to focus and 'useless,' according to Zethrid. I think my team chalked it up to being imprisoned for a month, but I couldn't stop my mind from drifting to the damn blade.  I keep telling myself I'll throw it out, but I've not been capable of going through with it, yet. I just haven't had the time, that's all. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to 'return' it to my brother. I can't help but be a little bitter over him stabbing me. Ezor would definitely offer to stab him back. She has, actually. Multiple times. I'm starting to think it's a fetish. 

I let out a huff as I work on fastening the straps on my armor, grunting at the obvious stiffness in my joints as I contort to fasten them all. 

  _Oh,_ _E_ _zor_ _. You are_ _far too perceptive for my own good._  

She isn't wrong though. Something has been different ever since I met Keith. I've withdrawn, I'm not dumb enough to deny it to myself. It's impacting everything. Maybe if I wasn't so worried about her discovering the pale splotches that were slowly spreading to speckle my arms and torso, I would be able to ease at least some of her concerns.  I've decided I'm not going to tell anyone about those until I figure out where the hell they came from in the first place. There are large swatches of my skin that are completely bleached of my normal coloring now. Eventually I'll have to address it, someone is bound to notice. I'm hoping to have found a solution by then. So far, the marks aren't on any exposed skin. At least I have that in my favor. 

Shaking my head to clear the flurry of thoughts, I slide the dagger into the slot in the hip of my armor. Zethrid always insists explosions are cathartic, maybe whatever task Lotor needs us all for can help distract me. We have a war to win, after all. I can't stay wrapped up in my own head forever.  


End file.
